Lost Hedgehog Tales
by SuperSmashEPIC
Summary: After the Sonic/Megaman Worlds Collide. Imagine what would have happened if Archie didn't reboot the comic and things went back to the way they were before the Super Genesis Wave. Join the Freedom Fighters as they take the next step on their road to recovery. Rated T for swearing,blood and ALOT of fighting.
1. Prologue: A New Genesis

**Lost Hedgehog Tales:**

 **Disclaimer: All characters belong to SEGA and Archie Comics. There may or may not be OCs but if there are I'll probably kill them off.**

 _PROLOGUE: A NEW GENESIS; NO ZONE_

The No Zone, another dimension where the baddest of the bad guys were sent to for their crimes. However, this zone was quite special. It's world was completly sideways compared to the other zones and this helped the Zone Cops access all the zones in the multiverse. The Zone Cops were the counterparts of the Mobians on the Prime Zone except they were all cops whether it be the good guys or the bad guys. But the main factor of this world was the Zone Jail. It was the biggest, most high-tech prison anybody has ever seen. No one has ever escaped Zone Jail or lived to tell the tale. That's because of the man in charge, who went by the name of Warden Zobotnik. Zobotnik was the counterpart of Mobius Prime's Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, who was a mad scientist trying to conquer the world with his unstoppable army of robots. Well, they would be unstoppable if it weren't for a certain blue hedgehog always ruining his plans. Sonic the Hedgehog was the hero of Mobius Prime and savior of the multiverse. He and Eggman were arch-enemies and were duking it out for over 10 years. Anyway, it was just a normal day at Zone Jail. By "normal", it meant Zone Cops working their butts off the entire day, new inmates being transported, fights and riots, and more Zobotnik constantly yelling at his recruits. However, this was just more than a normal day, as one particular Zone Cop was lounging in his office chair, looking at various monitors that displayed different counterparts of Sonic. This cop was Zonic the Zone Cop, star officer of the cops and Zobotnik's best choice in battle. The hedgehog was another counterpart of Sonic and he was scanning through every monitor to make sure no one crossed into a different zone from the Cosmic Interstate since that was a serious offense in the zone law. But something was unusual today. Zonic stared at Mobius Prime's monitor which was currently showing what appeared to be Super Sonic fighting a uglier version of a Death Egg robot alongside another robot who was gold colored with a human boy face.

"C'mon Rock, we're almost there!" Super Sonic shouted. Rock, what appeared to be the robot's name shouted with excitement,"I know Sonic, lets finish this so we can finally go home!" Super Sonic suddenly powered up a super spin dash, while Rock aimed his buster cannon at Sonic, giving him more energy and power. Rock channeled in some energy and fired his buster as Super Sonic went flying into the Death Egg robot, completly destroying it and sending the pieces of the monster flying.

"NNOOOOOO, YOU STUPID ARROGANT LITTLE PESTS!" Eggman bellowed as he was trapped within the face the robot and was somehow still flying in it. However another man fell out of the other side of the face which had fallen off when Super Sonic attacked. He was flying in his vehicle that was in the shape of a skull. He too had a bushy mustache like Eggman and was partially bald as well. To Zonic, it looked like the two mad scientists were brothers of some sort. The other man sighed and looked at his friend in defeat.

"It's hopeless Ivo, they've won. Sonic and MegaMan have defeated us and humiliated us again". He looked at the fallen and remains of their massive robot. "They even destroyed the Wily Egg Robot". Eggman looked at the other man in disgust.

"Albert Wily how dare you give up and accept defeat like this? We still have some of the parts functioning- uh we can still fix this an-and we can still win and build our glorious dream of our utopia. We can still do this, WE JUST HAVE TO WE CAN'T GIVE UP!" Wily looked at his friend with pity. He sighed in frustration and shouted at the other man in anger.

"IVO LISTEN, CAN'T YOU SEE? IT'S GONE ALL OF IT, THE WILY EGG IS DESTROYED AND THEY HAVE ALL THE DAMN CHAOS EMERALDS! IT'S OVER IVO JUST ACCEPT DEFEAT AND LET'S JUST GO HOME, OKAY?" Wily was suddenly grabbed by MegaMan, who flew away from the commotion as he smiled.

"Sonic, I'm gonna use Chaos Control!" Sonic looked at MegaMan and gave a thumbs-up along with his trademark grin.

"You go on Rock and go home, it's time we finally end this and return to our normal lives! This was fun buddy, but we gotta go our ways now. Hope to see you again man, you were way past cool!" MegaMan smiled and waved goodbye as he closed his eyes and Wily muttered "Home sweet home".

"Chaos Control!" MegaMan shouted as a white light suddenly started to shine over the two. It felt smooth and graceful as MegaMan smiled happily.'Doctor Light, Roll we're coming home'. The light faded away as MegaMan and Wily were both gone. Zonic looked in wonder as he muttered "interesting". Sonic looked back to see that it worked and he smiled satisfied it did.

"Good to know at least he made it back to his world" he said before turning to look at a fuming Eggman. "Alright doc, it's time to get your crying egg up and go back to our world" Sonic exclaimed as he held the chaos emerald high in the air. Eggman however refused to give up as he angrily looked at Sonic, whose back was turned.

"Not this time, you despicable rodent" he said before accelerating the remaining head of the Wily Egg robot into Sonic slamming him hard in the back that could've broken a regular non-super powered Mobian's back.

"Chaos ControAGGGHHH!" Sonic screamed in pain as he was suddenly propelled forward by the mad doctor. However this proved to be a HUGE mistake as suddenly the graceful white light formed by the emerald was suddenly turned into a sharp, fractured light that was way to bright. Sonic looked in horror at the distortion as Eggman suddenly realized his mistake.

"That...doesn't look good"

"Oh are you kidding- what did you do Eggman?"

The light suddenly closed in on Sonic and Eggman. "WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOO..." were Sonic's last words before he and Eggman were completly swallowed up by the blinding light. Zonic's eyes widened when he saw this. "What the hell was that" was all he said. This was something you didn't see everyday. The zone cop had never been so confused in his life as he never saw this and didn't know what to do. His attention suddenly shot to the other monitors and his eyes nearly popped out when he saw the same white light swallowing up other Sonics in various universes. Zonic quickly started noting down all the zones being affected by the light as he was breathing hard, not sure what to do.

"Moebius, Light Mobius, Solbius, Mobius Metal..." Zonic's voice trailed off when he noticed the light was suddenly in his office, creeping up to him like a vicious snake ready to attack. Zonic backed up into the corner and starting talking in his communicator. He was going to need some back-up for this one. "Zector, Zespio do you copy?" When he got nothing but static, he started again. "Does anyone copy" he shouted in the communicator before he saw the light was up to his legs and crawling up to his waist. Zonic briefly flicked his gaze onto the monitors seeing that they were all showing nothing, but static. Zonic took a deep breath and shut his eyes before the wave of light washed over him and everything in the multiverse...


	2. Chapter 1: The Return

**Lost Hedgehog Tales**

 _CHAPTER 1: THE RETURN_

White. That was all Sonic could see. It was everywhere all around him. There was no escaping it. He couldn't look away. No matter what he did he could see nothing but that empty whiteness. And to top it off, it was also quiet. _Too quiet._ It was starting to creep Sonic was so not the kind of day Sonic had planned. In fact, things were going better than ever and it seemed like Sonic would return home with his friends. He looked around to see nothing but the white space.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Sonic called out. All this silence and empty space was starting to get to Sonic and it was really freaking him out. "HEELLLLOOOOO? ANYBODY HERE?" He called out louder. Silence. When he got no response, Sonic facepalmed himself and sighed in frustration. Who was he kidding, there was NOTHING here. Nobody was going to answer to him. "What am I even doing? There's nothing but just that stupid white space." Sonic sighed. "What is this place anyway? Looks really boring here. I'd hate to be stuck here forever" Sonic said. He decided to look for a way out so he started walking. Sonic looked everywhere but there was nothing. The whiteness was _everywhere and there wasn't even a floor._ As Sonic was walking, he started thinking if he would ever even find his way out. Suddenly it dawned to him what if there was no way out. Sonic froze when that thought entered his mind. What if he was stuck here forever with no food, water and couldn't die. Sonic shuddered at the thought and wraped his arms around himself. _What if I never get out of here and have to live here for all eternity._ Sonic's mind was racing with those horrible thoughts. The cobalt hedgehog rarely felt fear, as he was normally used to stopping bad guys and evil. But this... this never happened before and the speedster didn't know what to do. _What if I'm already dead._ For a second he thought he was in some kind of limbo, stuck between life and death. Or he might've also been in a coma. Sonic's eyes widened at that thought. _I could be stuck here for chaos knows how long and my friends could be trying to wake me up._ Sonic suddenly wondered what even happened in the first place to make him get stuck in such a situation.

"How did all of this happen?" Sonic closed his eyes and tried to recall what happened in his last adventure. It was a little hazy, but he could still remember it. He could remember _him._ MegaMan. Sonic had been running through Green Hill Zone, his home on South Island. His best friend Miles 'Tails' Prower, had mysteriously dissapeared. The two had planned to go exploring in the Mystic Ruins, but when Sonic got to Tails' workshop, the two-tailed fox had vanished. He had went and asked all the residents living near the ruins and in Station Square if they had seen Tails but no luck. Sonic then went up to Angel Island to ask his friendly rival Knuckles the Echidna, guardian of the Master Emerald if he had seen Tails. But the hot-headed guardian himself had dissapeared and the Master Emerald was left unguarded. Sonic knew Knuckles wasn't stupid enough to leave the most powerful jewel of the Chaos Emeralds left unguarded and free for people like a certain bat he knew to go and take the emerald freely. Sonic was starting to get worried since he knew it was no coincidence for two of his friends to go missing. So he had asked the Chaotix to go look for them. The Chaotix were a group of detectives which consisted of their leader Vector the Crocodile, the loud-mouthed boss who always had his trusty headphones and love for money. Espio the Chameleon, the ninja and spy of the group. Espio was the quiet and calm one who usually acted the most mature out of the others. Lastly, the youngest member, Charmy Bee, a hyper-active bee who was always positive and acted like a two year old alot. He had even gotten arrested a few times for flipping over and damaging ice cream trucks because of his passion for ice cream. Though despite their immature behavior (except for Espio who always acted mature) Sonic knew these guys well and what they were capable of. But shortly, Sonic had found out the Chaotix had even gone missing, along with his self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose, he decided to investigate the matter himself. During an encounter with a strange human like robot who had zapped Silver the Hedgehog with a mysterious laser, Sonic had met MegaMan, a robot from another world, and they both had found out they had been duped by Copy Robot and Metal Sonic, a robotic version of Sonic. They both rescued a roboticized version of Tails later and along with MegaMan's brother ProtoMan, they went to Eggman and Wily's base: the Skull Egg Zone. The team soon had found out that all of Sonic's friends had been captured and turned into Roboticized Masters, combined with both Eggman and Wily's design. The evil doctors had also captured Doctor Light, who was being held captive. Sonic, along with the help of Tails and his new robotic friends MegaMan, ProtoMan and Rush helped rescue all of Sonic's friends and all of them soon teamed up to battle various robot masters that had been revived from MegaMan's world. While they did that, Sonic and MegaMan boarded the Wily Egg, a newer version of the Death Egg, except it was also modified with Wily's designs. They battle different fusions such as the Chaos Devil, a combination of Chaos and the Yellow Devil, the doctors' deadly enforcers Bass and Metal Sonic and soon faced the Wily Egg robot in their super forms. That had ended catastrophic as MegaMan was able to make it back home, but Eggman had intercepted Sonic's chaos control and both were sucked up into the blinding white light and after that Sonic had found himself here in this empty void. Sonic growled and slapped himself. This was all his fault. He should've been more careful.

"Stupid Eggman, that rotten fat ass. I'm gonna freaking scramble that stupid egg shaped bitch" Sonic cursed to himself. If only he hadn't turned his back around he could've saw Egg-head attack him and stop it. Now what would he do... Sonic's thoughts trailed off when suddenly his remembered something. He saw something-no some _one_ standing. Their eyes were piercing blue and to Sonic they looked like robot eyes. He looked around and saw there was fire everywhere and maniacal laughing. The robot took a step closer and saw the robot. It was Sonic's height and it looked like it appeared to be a roboticized Mobian chipmunk, a female one. It had red hair that now looked like an iron helmet on top of the chipmunk. Her blue boots were now metal as was the rest of the body. Her vest that was also blue now looked like a bullet-proof torso. And her eyes were lightning blue, as she looked Sonic right in the eyes. Sonic then heard the laughing turn to talking. That person-Eggman! The mad scientist was nowhere to be seen, but his voice could be heard as if he was right next to Sonic.

"Wha-what the he-heck?" Sonic exclaimed with wide eyes. Eggman's voice continued to taunt him. It was really loud and it was starting to hurt. "HOOOHOHOHO! RISE MECHA SALLY, MY NEW MINION AND DESTROY THIS BLUE PEST!" Eggman yelled. Sonic froze at the sound of the name. _Mecha Sally? Why does that seem so... familiar?_ Sonic wondered. Mecha Sally took a step closer and her arm reached out to grab his neck. Sonic's eyes shot open and he realized he was sweating. _What. The Fuck._ Who was this Mecha Sally and why did this person seem to haunt Sonic. Suddenly his hands shot up to clutch his head as pain shot up his brain. "AAAAGGHHHH!" Sonic screamed as the pain became more agonizing. The hedgehog was down on his knees now. It felt like someone was slowly drilling into his skull and he couldn't do anything about it.

"GAAAHHH, WHAT THE HE-HELL IS TH-THIS? MY HEAD IS GONNA EXPLODE!" Sonic screamed. The pain was making feel weak as he was slowly slumping to the ground. Memories were shooting up in his head. One of them had a three hedgehogs and a dog smiling at him. Two hedgehogs were male and one of them appeared to be a robot. The female hedgehog smiled as the dog barked happily. "Welcome home Sonic, my son" she said. Sonic's eyes went wide at that memory. Another one showed a skunk smiling evily at him as he said "For King Naugus" he shouted before zapping Sonic with a laser. Sonic yelped in pain as he was electrocuted. It felt so real and that didn't make sense to Sonic. The last memory showed a female chipmunk smiling at him. She was the same one from the first memory except she wasn't roboticized. Her smile turned to a look of horror as she was suddenly zapped by some light as she screamed "SSOOONNNIICCC!" Sonic gasped at that memory. Was that... Mecha Sally before she was roboticized? _What is going on?_ Sonic wondered. Suddenly the pain sparked and Sonic howled as his head hurt even more. "AAAHHHHHH NNNNNNNOOOOOOO! STTOOOPPP!" He begged but that made it worse. The hedgehog was on his stomach on as he felt much weak. His head felt like it was going to split apart and Sonic just wanted that to happen so badly to be released from this torture. All the memories suddenly swirled in his head and they turned into realization that these weren't just some random visions, but they were incidents of what actually happened in Sonic's life. Suddenly the pain reached its limit before Sonic started to see black spots in his vision. As he saw more black, the pain started ceasing, as Sonic soon felt as ease as he gasped and sighed.

"pant-pant, *gasp*" Sonic tried to regain his breath, but soon found himself slumping down as he was starting to feel dizzy. "Ah...gahh...wha...wh.." Sonic saw the blackness was spreading and soon started to black out. All the white space was gone and was replacd by one thing. _Darkness..._

"Guys, I think he's moving!"

"Can it Flip, we're not in the mood for any of your jokes right now"

"No, I'm serious his arm just moved!"

"What? Let me see"

"Is he okay, Tails? Is everything alright?"

"Hold on Amy,wait a sec let's make sure first... his hand just twitched!"

"*gasp* ohmigosh!"

"Flip, go get Erma and Augustus!"

"You got it Guntiver!"

Sonic groaned as he slowly came to and moved his legs on the soft bed. It felt really good to be eased of the headache. Sonic slowly opened his eyes and saw he was lying on his back on a bed. He looked around to find his friends Tails, Amy, Guntiver and Sealia. Flip the Penguin came running in along with three other figures: Erma, Augustus and Silver the Hedgehog. Erma knelt down beside Sonic and checked his temperature. She sighed in relief.

"Nothing serious, he's good". Sonic slowly got up and rubbed his eyes.

"Huh, wh-where am I?" He suddenly found himself crushed in a death hug by Amy. She was crying with tears streaming down her face, as were Sealia and Erma. Tails wiped a tear from his face and smiled. "Good morning, big bro" Tails said happily. Guntiver walked up to him and grinned. "Welcome back, blue. You were out for a while. Man, you had us _worried_ to death!" he exclaimed. Amy let go of Sonic and sobbed.

"Yeah, you were out for days! We were so worried for you! You had me thinking that you might not come back to us Sonic!" she exclaimed. Sonic had never been so confused in his life. What were his friends talking about? He looked at Guntiver in surprise. "Dude, what are you guys doing he-WAIT A SECOND WHERE ARE WE?" Sonic shouted. Flip held both his hands up in defense. "Whoa bro, calm down! Do you not no how lucky we were to survive in there? Man I thought for sure Akhlut was gonna eat me!" Flip exclaimed. Sonic looked at him in utter shock. "What are you talking about? You fought Akhlut and-wait WHY are we even here?" he said pointing at himself, Tails, and Amy. Tails looked at him in confusion. "Wait, you don't remember what happened?" Augustus chimed in. "You mean you forgot about that near death experience with Akhlut and Mecha Sally?" Sonic looked at him with surprise. Mecha Sally? "When did we fight Sal?" Erma looked at Tails in shock. Did Sonic really not remember their battle on the Death Egg? How they nearly got eaten and drowned by Akhlut and shot to death by Mecha Sally? Sealia decided to take a shot.

"Mon ami, do you not remember ze conflict zat had occured a few days ago?" Sonic was really begginning to lose it. He didn't know what the heck his friends were talking about and they weren't even straight-up telling him. Instead they were bombarding him with these stupid questions and it was getting on his nerves.

"ENOUGH WITH THE GOD DAMN QUESTIONS! JUST TELL ME WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED ON THE DEATH EGG OR WHY WERE WE EVEN THERE INSTEAD ASKING ME ALL THE FUCKING QUESTIONS!" Sonic shouted. Everyone shut up at once. Their eyes were filled with shock. Sonic had NEVER flipped out like this and he rarely swore. Doing this was quite a shock for his friends. It was then that Silver decided to speak. He had stayed quiet the whole time, not sure whether he would want to confront Sonic right now. He cleared his throat. Sonic turned to glare at him, shooting daggers at the other hedgehog. "What fern-head? Can't you see I'm mad enough with all this commotion and to top it off, your here as well! Find your _traitor_ yet silverfish?" he said. Sonic exaggerated the word "traitor" with deep hatred. He still couldn't believe that Silver thought one of the freedom fighters were traitors. He had tried to guess who was it multiple times, but failed. The last time Sonic and Silver met, it ended up in a rumble between the two when Silver had accused Antoine D'Coolette, who was in a coma at that time of being the traitor. Silver looked glum and he feared what Sonic would do now if he explained that Princess Sally was the traitor. Tails saw this and he knew what was going to happen, so he walked up to Sonic and put a hand on his shoulder. "Easy there, Sonic. Silver is going to give you all the details of what happened, but you have to promise to stay calm, okay?" Sonic gave a disbelieving look at Tails, but the fox just frowned and gave Sonic 'that look'. Sonic sighed, knowing there was no arguing with his brother now. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Fine, but you better not leave out a single detail" he said before glaring at Silver,"and this better not be another traitor, or else I won't spare you and you'll regret it" he said. Silver gulped and looked at Tails and everyone else, who nodded. He sighed. "Fine, here goes..."

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	3. Chapter 2: Metal Sonic Strikes

**Lost Hedgehog Tales**

 _CHAPTER 2: METAL SONIC STRIKES_

"Alright, here goes" Silver the Hedgehog said. Sonic the Hedgehog sat across from him and nodded. It had been a miracle. Just a few days ago, Team Fighters, which consisted of Sonic, Tails, Amy and Tails' robotic helper dog, T-Pup, had landed in the icy continent of Holoska. They had met up with the Arctic Freedom Fighters, which had Guntiver the Arctic Wolf, Erma Ermine, Flip the Penguin, Augustus the Polar Bear and Sealia Seal, and together they had planned an invasion on the Death Egg which was Doctor Eggman's main base for his latest scheme. The Death Egg was built with such advanced technology, that it needed something very powerful to power it. That's where that Chaos Emerald came in. After he had gone into hiding, Eggman had managed to snag a chaos emerald and used it to power the Death Egg. Recently, Eggman had used a powerful weapon on the Death Egg, called the Cosmic Reset Button. It had sent a wave of energy switching reality and altering it drastically. Thanks to the power of Chaos Control however, the Genesis Wave was reset and things were back where they had left off. But in the struggle to blow the Death Egg up, Princess Sally Acorn had sacrificed herself to save the world from roboticization. She in turn had been turned into a vicious cyborg that only knew to kill. So Team Fighters and the Arctic Freedom Fighters had come up with a plan to invade the Death Egg, deroboticize Sally and destroy the machine itself. During the invasion, they had come across Silver the Hedgehog who had found out about the traitor and came here to stop everyone from walking to their very own demise itself, which was the Death Egg. After getting ambushed by Akhlut, one of Eggman's commanders, the heroes soon found themselves in a scuffle with the robot princess herself. It was a tough battle and they had almost died, but managed to push through and knocked Sally out. But after that, they were hit by another wave. This time it was dubbed as the Super Genesis Wave and it took Sonic on an adventure of a lifetime. After it wore off, the team found themselves escaping the Death Egg with an unconscious Sonic. He wasn't the only one as several others were knocked out as well, but Sonic had taken the longest time to recover. Silver cleared his throatas he began to talk.

"Ok, so right now we're in the continent of Holoska. The reason why we're all here is because we planned to invade the Death Egg and destroy it along with rescuing Sally." Sonic nodded in understanding. "Ok, I get that but what happened after that?" Silver gave him an annoyed look implying that he hated being interuppted.

"Ah yes, about that y'see..." Silver scratched his head. "We kinda got ambushed by this killer whale named Akhlut and his goons, but we beat them. Then we run into your highness herself" Sonic frowned when Silver said that. He didn't like it whenever someone insulted the princess. He knew Silver didn't mean it, but still.

"So anyway, while we were fighting, Sally got a good hit on you and she was gonna kill you, but I managed to shut her system down by electrocuting her." Sonic glared at Silver after he said that. "You what?" Sonic exclaimed. Erma quickly rushed over and put a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Hey, just calm down and let the kid explain, kay?" Silver glared at Erma. He hated it when people called him a kid. It made him feel so... _weak._ "Don't call me a kid" Silver spat. Erma glared back. "Shut up. You attacked Rotor in our colony and nearly killed him. Don't expect me to be nice." Guntiver intervened. "Erma, that's enough. He's here to help us so at least give him a chance" Erma just _hmphd_ angrily and faced the other way. "C'mon, after all that's been going on, we shouldn't fight amongst ourselves. It's important we stick together on this one." Tails couldn't agree more. "She's right guys. If we're going to take on Eggman, we should have each other's backs for this"

"No way Tails, Erma's right. Silver attacked and nearly killed Rotor and the poor guy's back isn't even better yet! Then he also blamed Antoine for being the traitor despite the fact the guy's in a _fucking_ hospital after saving Elias and being a real hero. Did you guys even think _once_ how would Bunnie react to this if she found out. She's already in a depression for not being able to fight since Naugus deroboticized her and the fact that she lost Antoine. Let's not forget how he tried to kill me back in Moebius. Face it, this guy's a walking paradox with nothing to do but find this "supposed" traitor and eliminate them. But all he's done is cause problems." Sonic said while glaring at Silver, who in return glared back. "If you must know, the only reason I'm even here is to _help_ you guys out and stop this menace from destroying the world. Have you been to my future yet, Mr I-m-so-cocky-full-of-myself, huh?" Sonic glowered at the opposing hedgehog. "Why, you son of a..."

"EVERYBODY, SHUT THE HELL UP AND STOP ARGUING LIKE LITTLE BABIES!" Amy's voice triumphed over the others. Everyone froze immediatly at once. Flip slowly backed away from Amy, not wanting to feel her wrath. As soon as it was quiet, Amy smiled. "Good, now then will you please get back to explaining to Sonic why we failed to save Sally, Silver?" She then looked at Sonic, who raised his eyebrow. "And _you_ better shut up, if you don't want my hammer on your head, sweety" she threatened menacingly. Sonic sank down onto his chair in defeat. Amy was really terrifying with her hammer. Sonic would know that since he's had _years_ of practice running from Amy. Silver cleared his throat again and spoke. "Now back to where we left off, before I was _rudely_ interupted," he glared at Sonic, who stuck his tongue out back. "After I stopped Sally from killing us, a bright light washed over us and I don't really remember what exactly happened then, but when it faded away, you, along with Flip, Amy and Sealia were knocked out. The rest of us grabbed you guys and escaped the Death Egg when more of his Egg SWATS came after us. After that we just camped out here for the past few days trying to recover, and since you just woke up this morning, we can go back to planning a returning strike on the Death Egg." Sonic looked at Silver in confusion. "Wait, so why are we attacking the Death Egg a second time after we failed the first time?" That's when Tails spoke up.

"Well, since we all are back in shape to fight, we figured it would be a good idea to attack Eggman again so soon. He would be least expecting it and not only that, but it will be much easier since he sent out the Egg Boss, that's supposed to be stationed to guard the Death Egg, to find us. Also, due to the damages Mecha Sally took after Silver disabled her, it's gonna take a while for Eggman to patch her up. So we have alot of threats out of our way and the Egg SWATs won't be a problem. Plus, Eggman is also planning to relocate the Death Egg to an unknown location where no one could find it or track it down. So we need to move fast if we want to pull this off." Sonic nodded. "So what's our plan of attack?" Augustus grinned. "A direct charge on the battle station itself. With Eggman's big threats out of the way, it'll be easy for us to just storm in the destroy the damn thing!" Sonic smiled. "Alright then, so it's decided! We move out tommorow morning and charge right in there! And we should also get a day's rest as well!" Tails nodded. "Good idea. Since this village is so isolated, Eggman will _never_ find us here!"

"You got that right, lil buddy!" Sonic exclaimed. "But how'd you find out about the relocation. Its not like Baldy McNosehair would just come out and say that he's moving the Death Egg." "Tails managed to decrypt one of Eggman's files saying he's going to move it. He's currently trying to decrypt the one that has the new location, but no luck avail" Erma said. "Not only zat, but zis will take a while to figure out, and ve need to move tommorow" Sealia piped in.

"Kay, so we move out tommorow gang" Sonic said. "Hell yeah, we gonna storm in and kick some eggy ass!" Flip exclaimed. Guntiver laughed. "This is crazy. Smart but crazy." Everyone started cheering and high-fiving each other thinking how the look on Eggman's face was gonna be after his entire base was destroyed. Silver held both his hands up and shouted over the cheering."Hey everyone, calm down! Wait I still gotta tell you who the traitor is!" Everyone stopped cheering and exchanged worried glances. They knew who the traitor was since Silver had told them, but since Sonic had a short memory loss of what happened on the Death Egg, he just sighed. "Alright man, just tell me who you suspect this time" Silver frantically shook his head. He swallowed the lump in his throat and began to speak. "I don't suspect it this time! I know who it is I swear! You just gotta trust me on this one!" He looked at everyone else who were all nodding their heads implying that Silver should tell Sonic. Erma just glared at Silver. He then looked over at Sonic who impatiently was tapping his foot."Cmon just tell me already! Enough with the suspense!" Sonic exclaimed. Silver took a deep breath and started talking. "The person who is responsible for turning on the Freedom Fighters, the person who is responsible for the act of betrayal, the person who is responsible for the fate of my world is none other than..." Silver looked down at the floor.."Princess Sally Acorn, founder of the Freedom Fighters, daughter of King Maximilian and Queen Alicia Acorn, sister of Elias Acorn and now Mecha Sally, top commander of the Egg Army." He then looked at Sonic whose eyes were wide open. Tails put a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Sonic, are you all right?" Silver then realized he forgot to add the reason why he needed to stop Sally. _Hopefully what I'm about to say cools him down._ The telekinetic hedgehog spoke. "But don't worry, that's why I'm here! I'm gonna save you all by-" Silver didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because Sonic had grabbed Silver by the neck and had blasted out the door of their cottage. Everyone gasped and started chasing after Sonic shouting "Stop!" and "Don't hurt him!" Sonic heard everyone yelling his name to stop but he ignored them. He didn't care what his friends were saying. What he _did_ care about right now was ripping this psycho-kinetic freak apart limb from limb. Sonic had always tolerated the accusations made by Silver on his friends, but this was taking it WAY to far. Sonic sped up faster his mind racing with furious thoughts. Silver screamed as he was literally _DRAGGED_ by Sonic so fast. Luckily there was alot of snow so it didn't hurt that much but it still hurt! _Oh man, looks like a struck a nerve! Alot of them!_ Sonic abruptly came to a stop as he threw Silver into a nearby iceberg. The white hedgehog slammed into the iceberg and groaned as he tried to steady himself. He failed to however, notice Sonic running towards him and the blue speedster started throwing punches at the psychic hedgehog. Silver cried out in pain as he was rapidly punched back and forth and tried to fight back. But he could only raise his arms up in defense, which did nothing since Sonic was pounding him really bad. Sonic then grabbed Silver by one of his quills with one hand and used the other one to rapidly punch him in the stomach.  
"Ooof! Oww! St-top-OW!" Silver yelled. But the more Silver begged, the more angry Sonic became. "Who do you think you are to say that! How dare you accuse Sally about being a traitor! She would never do that! She was always the positive one and she kept the team together! Don't you dare say that ever again!" Sonic yelled. Silver saw an opening as Sonic punched him and he managed to escape Sonic's grasp, dodge a punch and then threw a punch of his own. Sonic just grabbed it, and flipped Silver over him."Gaahhhh!" Silver yelled as he fell on his back. Before he could get up, Sonic spin-dashed him back to the ground, grabbed one of Silver's quills as he was flying over Silver and took the other hedgehog with him. Both flipped and tumbled around in the snow yelling and throwing punches at each other.

"WOULD YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME? LET ME EXPLAIN!" Silver yelled. Sonic responded by grabbing Silver and flipping him on the bottom so Sonic was on the top.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR EXPLAINING! JUST SAVE YOUR BREATH AND NEVER SHOW ME YOUR FACE AGAIN! AND GET A LESS STUPID HAIRCUT, YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR WEARING A DAMN PLANT ON YOUR HEAD!" Sonic countered back. Silver's anger began to boil as he punched and flipped Sonic on the bottom and began repeatedly punching his face. "THAT DOES IT! NO ONE MAKES FUN OF MY HAIR! NOT YOU, NOT SCOURGE, NOT ERMA, NO ONE!" The two wrestled each other in the snow for a while before Sonic kicked Silver off him and spin-dashed him repeatedly in the snow. He then grabbed Silver and threw him off the slope and onto the ground below. Silver landed with a thud and Sonic jumped down after him and charged at him while he was getting up. Before Sonic's heel could make contact with Silver's face, the telekinetic hedgehog used his psychokinesis to halt Sonic in midair. Sonic struggled to break free, but it was pointless. Silver smirked.

"It's no use", he said before levitating Sonic higher off the ground. "Take this!" He then proceeded to slam Sonic on the ground multiple times before turning him on his side and sent him hurling into a wall. "Unngghh!" Sonic shouted as pain shot up his body. He slowly slid down the wall and onto his knees before he saw an iceberg sent hurling toward his face. Luckily, Sonic used his speed to slide under the iceberg and curled into a ball before launching himself at Silver. He slammed Silver in the gut and the other hedgehog grunted as the wind had been knocked out of him. Silver fell down on his back and Sonic grabbed him by the fur on his chest and threw him high in the air before jumping up and homing attacking him back up on the slope. Silver fell face-flat on the snow and struggled to get up. Sonic was a really strong opponent. He was not to be underestimated at all. Silver felt weak and he knew he was going to lose this fight. He shut his eyes as Sonic jumped up and landed on the same slope as him. _Come on, Guntiver. Where are you? Where's Amy when you need her?_ Silver thought as his mind raced with thoughts. Silver opened one eye and looked at Sonic who was charging up his next attack. Sighing in defeat, Silver said "just finish me off already". Sonic's expression didn't change from the furious glare. "Gladly" was all he said before boosting into Silver sending the other hedgehog careening into a nearby shop. Silver crashed through the window, but the whole wall came down from the impact. Buildings in Holoska weren't built that sturdy so it was really easy to tear them down. As Silver struggled to get up from the remains of the shop's wall that had half buried him, he only had one though in mind. _That. Fucking. Hurt. ALOT._ Sonic merely dusted himself off as if it were nothing and smirked at Silver who glared back. "That's what you get for accusing Sally of being the traitor. Maybe now you'll learn your ways and stop trying to attract attention, _silverfish_ ". The others finally arrived when Silver had crashed into the shop and they ran up to him to see if he was okay. Amy stomped up to Sonic, who looked at her in confusion before he was harshly slapped on the cheek. Sonic was more than shocked. Amy Rose, his number one fan, self-proclaimed girlfriend who loved him more than herself and hated seeing him get hurt, had just slapped him. HARD.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT SONIC? YOU NEARLY KILLED HIM! WE TOLD YOU TO CONTROL YOURSELF AND THERE YOU GO, BEATING THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF SILVER! YOU DIDN'T EVEN LET HIM EXPLAIN WHY HE EVEN SAID THAT!" Amy practically shouted at him in his face. Sonic grew mad and shouted back "WHAT'S THERE TO EXPLAIN? DID YOU SEE HOW HE ACCUSED SALLY OF BETRAYING US? WHY, JUST BECAUSE SHE'S ROBOTICIZED AND WORKS FOR EGGMAN NOW?" "DID YOU EVEN BOTHER TO ASK HIM WHY HE SAID THAT OR WHAT WAS HIS REASON?" Amy retaliated back. Sonic opened his mouth to retort back, but closed it when he realized he had nothing to say. As much has he hated to admit it, Amy was right. The other hedgehog had been in the middle of explaining why Sally would be the downfall of the Freedom Fighters when he had lost it and lashed out at the guy. Sonic looked at Silver who was struggling to get up with Flip and Sealia helping him stand up. Sonic then looked at Amy who still looked downright pissed. He then looked at Tails and the Arctic Fighters. T-Pup was hiding and whimpering behind Tails and the fox was trying to calm him down. Guntiver sadly shook his head, while Augustus crossed his arms and looked away. Erma just shook her head slowly. Even though she didn't like Silver, not even he deserved this kind of beating. Sonic looked in horror at his hands and took a few deep breaths. Amy suddenly frowned, noticing Sonic's strange behavior.

"Sonic..." she began but didn't get to finish as Sonic spoke "I...gotta go..somewhere..alone" he said before turning around and running off in the opposite direction. Tails started to walk after his brother, but Amy stopped him with her arm. "I'll go talk to him. You just make sure Silver is okay". Tails looked at her in confusion but decided not to argue. "Okay, just be careful" he said before turning around and walking to Silver who had managed to stand up, but fell back down, this time on top of Flip. The penguin yelped as he struggled to get Silver off but the hedgehog was too tired. Amt turned to run off in the direction Sonic went. _Sonic... what's happening to you._ She thought as she ran. Meanwhile, unknown to everyone a figure was watching everything from a high slope on a mountain. The figure snickered when he saw Sonic run away and Amy chasing after him.

"It's time Sonic, my loathesome copy", the figure said as menacingly look down at the village where lights were shining ever so brightly in the night for the Christmas season. "TO MEET YOUR END" the figure let out a maniacal laugh.

 _Meanwhile with the Arctic Freedom Fighters,_

"OOOOWWWWWWW!"

"AUGUSTUS, YOUR GONNA RIP HIS BEAK OFF!"

"WELL, HE WOULDN'T SHUT HIS BEAK SO I HAD TO SHUT IT FOR HIM!"

"Stop lying. You know you like Sealia, Augustus just admit it!"

"FLIP, FOR THE LAST TIME-THAT'S IT, COMERE! I'M GONNA RIP MORE THAN THAT BEAK OFF!

"WAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT! AUGUSTUS CHILL! WE CAN TALK ABOUT THI-OWW MY LEG! WHAT ARE YO-OOHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNOOOOO-" Flip's screaming was cut off by a punch to the face as he smashed against the wall knocked out in an awkward pose with him upside down. Guntiver facepalmed himself while Augustus was cracking up on the floor. Erma smirked at the sight. Their bickering never got old.

"sigh-Those two go at it all day long, don't they?" she asked Sealia, who was giggling at the sight. She wiped a tear and smiled at her friend. "Yes, mon ami, zis alvays shines ze light in our day". She turned to Silver who was sitting on the couch, relaxing and healing from the beating he had gotten from Sonic.

"How are you feeling now,mon ami?" she asked. Silver smiled."I'm better now Sealia, thanks for the concern." He then looked at Tails who was sitting right next to him. Silver couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. With the whole Death Egg crisis going on and to top it if Sonic nearly going insane, Tails' days so far had been pretty dark. He tapped Tails on the shoulder who was lost in his thoughts. He jerked his head toward Silver in surprise.

"Huh-yea, what" he asked completly dazed out. Silver looked him in the eyes. "You gonna be okay, Tails?" Tails quickly nodded. "Uh-yeah I'm gonna be okay-don't worry about me-i'll be fine" he said _way_ to fast. Silver frowned. Tails just sighed.

"I'm just not sure what's going on with him. He wasn't himsellf when he first woke up. I mean he got mad so easily when we kept questioning him about how he didn't remember. He even swore out loud. Sonic never swears. I'm just worried about him". Silver looked at Tails with sadness. The poor kid seemed so stressed out. He put a hand on Tails' shoulder.

Don't worry, tommorow when we storm the Death Egg, you won't have to worry about any of this. Sally will be saved and Eggman will be stopped". Tails felt a little better at the thought and smiled at Silver. "Thanks Silver, that actually helps me alot". Silver chuckled. "No problem. C'mon let's watch some TV". Tails' face lit up with excitement as he loved watching TV. Soon after, Sealie, Erma and Augustus joined in. Flip even recovered from Augustus' punchout and sat down with the rest of the gang. Guntiver smiled at the bonding. Everyone was laughing and having fun. _Now all we need is Sonic to join us. Hopefully Amy can make him cool down._ Guntiver shook is head. Of course Amy could make him feel better. She had her trusty Piko Piko Hammer. Shaking away the thoughts, Guntiver went to join his friends. Unknown to anyone, the figure was watching them through the window of the cottage. He turned around and gave the signal to a bunch of other figures who raised their guns and got ready to attack. The leading figure who gave the signal and chuckled darkly. "Now Sonic, you will face the same kind of humiliation I did years ago. Tonight will be your end!"

 _Meanwhile with Sonic and Amy_

Sitting on the edge of a frozen lake, Sonic looked up at the night sky. It truly was an amazing view. There was light snow falling as well as millions of stars in the sky. Sonic just looked at the stars lost in his thoughts and didn't even hear the panting and footsteps behind him. It wasn't until he felt a tap on his shoulder he turned around shocked to find Amy Rose sitting right next to him, looking at him with a frown. "You made me run all this way without stopping and here you are relaxing by the lake". Sonic didn't answer. He sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Amy, do you think I'm selfish?" Sonic asked. Amy frowned at the response. How could Sonic think like that? "No. Your not. You risk your life to save everyone on this planet so how are you selfish?" Sonic then looked at Amy. "Then why did I let my emotions get the best of me and attack Silver?" "You were just mad since he said-" "Do you see? I attacked Silver because I didn't care if I killed him. I knew if Sally dies, then I won't be able live anymore. See? I only do this for myself!" The poor hedgehog was suffering from the inside. Amy just looked at him with sadness.

"That's not true. You only cared for her well-being because she is the one that can lead New Mobotropolis since Elias dissapeared. You know the citizens won't survive with Naugus in charge. Your not selfish Sonic the Hedgheog. Now get up and go shake hands with Silver". Sonic couldn't help, but smile. Amy always knew how to make someone feel better. "Wow, how corny". Amy playfully punched him in the arm. "Oh, shut up". They both giggled and smiled at each other. If it were up to them, they could've just kept staring in each others eyes the entire night. But it wasn't up to them. Things always tended to mess up at the wrong moment. A huge explosion suddenly shook both hedgehogs away from each others gaze.

"What the hell was that?" Sonic yelled. Amy looked in the distance and her eyes went wide when she saw fire. "In the village! There's a fire!" "Oh no! Tails, T-Pup, Silver and the others.." Sonic suddenly scooped up Amy bridal style and sped off toward the village. _Whatever is going on, I hope everyone is okay._

 _Back at the village_

Fire. That was the only word that came to Sonic's mind as he raced across the once colorful, snowy village that was now a fiery mess of torn down buildings ad civilians screaming. Sonic looked in horror at what was happening. He knew he had to protect these people, but also find his friends. While he was speeding through, Amy who was in his arms gasped as she saw the cause of this mess.

"Sonic, look!" she yelled. She pointed to the church that was a blazing inferno. Sonic looked where she had pointed and gasped in horror. There were robots everywhere around the church. Egg SWATs fired their flamethrowers without mercy. People screamed as they were captured and their homes were destroyed. Sonic sped up, anxiety increasing by the second. _Tails, everyone where are you?_ Sonic suddenly came to an abrupt stop as he looked in horror at what used to be their cottage. Amy covered her mouth with both hands.

"Sonic!" Tails' voice sounded. Sonic quickly turned his head to find his little brother and robot dog come running towards him. Tails stopped in front of Sonic and gasped. The poor kid was out of breath. Sonic out both hands on Tails' shoulders.

"What the hell is going on? Why is the village under attack by Eggman's robots?" Sonic asked. Tails looked at him with a worried glance. "It's Tundra! He found us and attacked. The Arctic Freedom Fighters along with Silver are fighting them right now!" Amy pulled out her hammer. "We got to help them!" she exclaimed. Sonic nodded. "Let's go smash some bots!" They all ran off in the direction where Tundra and his goons were attacking. When they reached there, they found the Arctic Fighters engaged in a heated battle with Tundra and his men. Silver and Tundra were both fighting each other. Tundra glared at Silver.

"I heard you tried to kill my son" he said, growling. Silver's expression turned to shock. He knew damn well Tundra was talking about Rotor. _This guy is Rotor's father?! Man, that's cold!_ Silver glared at Tundra.

"Well, I'm about to make you wish you never joined the Eggman Empire!" Silver held his arm back, ready to blast Tundra. But Tundra didn't move. He just stared at Silver, waiting for him to make his move. Before Silver could attack, he was slammed by a brute force in the back. He cried out as he fell forward. Quick as lightning, Tundra took his laser gun out and fired three shots at Silver as soon as he fell. They all hit Silver and the white hedgehog screamed as the shots pierced his fur. Tundra walked over to Silver ready to finish him off. But before he could go any closer, Guntiver stepped in front of Silver and gave Tundra a hard uppercut that sent the walrus on his back. "Nobody messes with my friends! You may be Rotor's father, but that won't stop me from hurting you!" Tundra got up and lunged at Guntiver shouting curses and tackled him. Both men rolled around, trying to get the best of each other. Amy saw Guntiver was in trouble. "We have to help him!" Before anyone could move, the thing that attacked Silver stepped in their way. The figure let out a laugh.

"It's been a while Sonic, my loathesome copy" he said. Sonic's face read utter shock. Of all people he hadn't expected _this_ guy to come back. Tails and Amy looked at the figure in fear, especially Amy. The figure had a blue color on his armor, a torso with a hole to fire a laser, rocket boots, spiky head and glowing red eyes. Sonic knew this guys was worse than the demon himself as he had tried to kill Sonic and his friends many times, and has almost succeeded in doing so. Sonic finally got the urge to speak up and his voice cracked when he said the figure's name.

"Metal Sonic?!" he said. Sonic couldn't believe it. This was the same person that had tried to kill Sonic by kidnapping Amy back on Little Planet. This was the same guy who had tried to trick Sonic and his friends by taking over Eggman's empire and faking himself as the mad doctor himself. _Hell,_ this was the same monster who put Antoine in a coma! Metal Sonic let out a laugh as he was amused by the Mobian's surprise. "Miss me Sonic? Because I certainly missed you... _missed trying to rip you apart!_ " the robotic hedgehog let out a maniacal laugh that could even make Eggman look like a kid. Sonic's eyes narrowed down into slits. One, he hated Metal for all the things he had done, and two his jokes were just as terrible as himself.

"What, so eggy finally got rid of the silent killer and put Mr. Creepy back online? Wow, that's so not like him considering the last time you had a voice chip!" Sonic spat. Metal stopped laughing and glared at Sonic. Amy backed away in fear. She _loathed_ Metal. Ever since she had been kidnapped as a little kid, this robot always haunted her in her dreams. She feared this robot alot. Sonic saw this and stepped in front, shielding his friends. "Amy, I'll handle Metal. You go help Silver and make sure he's okay. Tails, go help out the Arctic Fighters in taking out eggy's goons." Tails nodded. "Cmon T-Pup, let's smash some robots!" The two ran away. Amy however stayed. She pulled out her hammer. "No way, Sonic. This guy is a monster and you know as well as I do, Metal is far too strong. I'm gonna help you take him on!" Sonic knew that was a horrible idea since Metal was too strong even for her and he could just capture her, and use her as a hostage and kill Sonic. "No, Amy. This is _my_ fight. This guys wants to prove who the real Sonic is and I'm gonna show him. Besides Silver needs some assistance". Amy frowned. "Sonic Maurice Hedgehog, I'm not leavin-" "No Amy, just please believe me. I _got_ this". He looked at Amy and gave her one of the looks Tails always gave. Amy stood her ground and looked him in the eye. Metal stood and watched with amusement. Oh how these fleshies didn't know that tonight was going to be their demise, no matter how hard they tried. Finally after a long stare-down, Amy threw her hands up in defeat. "Oh fine, you win! Just be careful, okay?" Sonic smiled. "Okay!" He exclaimed giving her a thumbs-up and his trademark grin. Amy ran to help Silver who was trying to recover from the laser shots. Sonic slowly turned to Metal, who was just staring at him, as if he were waiting. _Man, talk about creepy,_ Sonic thought. _Hard to believe this guy thinks he's me._ Metal laughed at the commotion that just happened and got ready in a fighting stance.

"How touching. Now with the interuptions gone, we can finally have our fight _Sonic._ " Sonic glared at Metal and got into his own fighting stance. "Yeah, and your gonna get destroyed just like every time _Metal!_ " Metal laughed. "We'll see about that". And with that, both hedgehogs charged toward each other shouting battle cries. Sonic faked a punch to the left than tried to hit with the right, but Metal blocked it and tried to kick Sonic, but the organic hedgehog jumped out of the way. Both then grappled arms trying to get the best of the other, but they were both evenly matched and gave up. Sonic then leapt up and homing attacked, but the Metal did the same and both homing attacks collided. They kept this one for a while until neither prevailed and got back on the ground. Sonic started running while Metal flew beside him. Both were equally fast and split directions, one going left and the other going right. Sonic looked to his left to see Metal on the other side of the lake. Metal looked deadly and wanted to win this at all costs. _Well, that's not gonna happen!_ Sonic thought as he raced Metal. He turned left and Metal turned right when they both made it to the other side. Now the two hedgehogs were charging towards each other. Metal sped up as well as Sonic, both attempting to run the other down. However Sonic knew this fight was at a stalemate and decided to trick Metal. He held his arm back as if he was going to punch Metal. Metal Sonic saw this and got ready to block Sonic's punch. But before the hedgehogs collided with each other, Sonic jumped and thrust his foot out catching Metal on the chin. The robotic hedgehog flew back into a wall but flipped himself back so he landed feet first and used the momentum to charge right back at Sonic, boosting into him. Sonic managed to cross his arms to block the attack but he instead was pushed back in the snow. He fell down, taken back by the force of that attack.

" _He's really not kidding around this time"_ Sonic thought, " _I gotta step up my game if I don't want to get spin-dashed apart!"_ Said hedgehog as his foot lashed out just as Metal was charging at him. However Metal caught Sonic's foot and flipped him over Metal's head. Sonic landed face-first in the snow. Growling, he turned around and curled into a ball before spin-dashing towards Metal. The robot just kicked Sonic away like a football and pile dived Sonic to the ground.

"Gahhh!" Sonic cried out as Metal Sonic's claw was still gripping his neck. Metal just tossed Sonic into a wall before flying toward him and punching him through the wall. The whole wall just collapsed after that and Sonic slid across the ice as he fell. He slid toward the edge and fell off but managed to grab the edge at the last second as he held on to dear life. "Uh oh, not good!" Sonic yelped in fear as he saw the ground below him was a long drop and there were also sharp icicles pointing up at him. Sonic tried to haul himself back up, but the ice started to crack. Metal then stomped over to Sonic and laughed at the other hedgehog's misfortune.

"Oh Sonic, look where we are now. You were gloating about how I was going to get destroyed, but look now. This is your end. Of course, despite my function is to destroy, I will give you one last chance to redeem yourself. I'll let you live and you and I team up to become the world's greatest conquerers. You get half the world, I get half the world and then we could both overthrow Eggman and his army and eliminate anyone who gets in our way, _hmm?_ What do you say dear brother?" Sonic just glared at Metal. How dare he ask Sonic if he wanted to take over the world? "Fuck you Metal, I'd never even dream about teaming up and taking over the world with you. I'd rather _die._ " Metal couldn't believe it. Sonic was refusing such a fine offer. What kind of an idiot was he. Metal then glared at Sonic. Well, if the hedgehog would rather die, then Metal would gladly fulfill that wish.

"Hmph, your wish. Goodbye Sonic". Metal then stomped the ground really hard and the ice completly shattered on the impact, as Sonic plummeted down to his death, screaming. Sonic looked down to see he was heading right for the spiky icicles. He then looked and saw that the impact of Metal's foot had cause the ice to completly break apart sending big platforms of ice falling with Sonic. _No, I'm not ready to go just yet, Metal._ Spinning into a ball, Sonic launched himself on the platform below him and steadied himself. Just before the platform made contact with the spikes, Sonic leapt off, the momentum giving him more air and rapidly homing attacked faling platforms and got to safe ground. He got up and blasted across a wooden bridge and into the caverns. Metal had seen this happen and roared in anger. He was so close. _So close_ to killing that damn hedgehog and he still manages to survive. "No matter, he is just delaying the inevitable", Metal said before jumping off and blasting after Sonic in the treacherous caverns.

 _Meanwhile back with the Arctic Freedom Fighters_

There was chaos everywhere. Buildings on fire, people screaming for their lives, as they ran. Egg SWATs and legionized soldiers stormed the village. However the Arctic Freedom Fighters, along with the help of Amy, Tails and Silver managed to halt them and were pushing Eggman's forces back. Erma kicked an Egg SWAT and punched a soldier. "Keep pushing them back everyone, we're almost there!" She yelled as she spin kicked another soldier. Augustus was tearing through the Egg SWATs without any problem, since he was the brute of the team. Flip, Sealia and Tails were doing okay, with the exception of the burns and scratches they had. Amy and Silver were back to back fighting off a horde of Egg SWATs and soldiers. Guntiver was still going at it with the Holoska Regional Egg Boss Tundra Walrus, father of Freedom Fighter Rotor Walrus. They both grunted as they wrestled with each other. Tundra may be old, but he was still very strong. Luckily, Guntiver was doing good against the walrus.

"You Freedom Fighters don't stand a chance against the Egg Army! We are too powerful with our advancements and superior technology! Just surrender and join the Eggman Empire if you value your lives!" Tundra yelled. Guntiver just punched Tundra, got up and dropkicked him on the ground. "Never! We will never work for someone murderous like Eggman! How about you guys just rebel against him and join us so we can eliminate that threat! Mobius can be at peace!" Tundra glared at Guntiver before grabbing him and kneeing him. He then punched Guntiver hard in the face, and kicked him down. He then proceeded to stomp on Guntiver like a madman. "Yeah, well at what cost? To go back to the weak people we once were? Is that what you want? Well that's not happening! Eggman has made us stronger! With him leading us, there's no one that can stop us! We used to be good before, but now we are BETTER!" Tundra shouted as he stomped on Guntiver harder. The artic wolf was gasping, trying to stop Tundra, but it was no use. Tundra then lifted Guntiver by the neck and threw him into a nearby tree. He then took out a gun, not a laser one, but an actual gun that could kill. He aimed the gun at Guntiver, who was struggling to get up and smiled. "We are much stronger now! Destroy the weak! You are all pathetic!" Before he could pulled the trigger, the gun was snatched out of Tundra's hand in some cyan energy and was carried to Silver who held it in his hand. Tundra gaped in shock at Silver who just smiled.

"You say we are weak, right? You guys think your stronger and superior, huh? Then how come we are pushing your forces back and destroying them?" Tundra looked at his army and noticed that they were starting to retreat. H growled at their failure. How DARE they. This was a sign of weakness and Tundra was not going to tolerate it. Army or not, he would have his victory today. He then lunged at Silver in an effort to grab the gun, but the telekinetic hedgehog just sidestepped the walrus and let him fall face-first in the snow. Tundra growled and tried to attack again, but couldn't move. He then saw the cyan energy around him and Silver with his palm out facing him. Silver then walked up to Tundra and put the gun to the walrus' head. Guntiver gasped when he saw this. Silver glared at Tundra, whose eyes were now wide with shock.

"You said that we didn't have the courage to do anything. That we were always peace-makers and never supported violence and that's what made us weak right?" Silver's finger slid to the trigger. Tundra shut his eyes, not wanting to see. But instead of hearing a gunshot, he heard a _click_ and saw that Silver had unloaded the bullets when he snatched the gun away and there was nothing in the gun. Silver then spoke. "That's because we're not monsters like you" he said before turning the gun upside down and smashing against Tundra's forehead, knocking the walrus out cold. Silver then threw the gun down and ran over to Guntiver to help him. The arctic wolf laughed. "Man, you had me worried there! I thought you were gonna shoot Tundra dead right there!" Silver grinned. "Of course not! Tundra is Rotor's dad and I would never hurt anyone's family. Despite his father betraying him, I'm sure Rotor still loves his dad and wouldn't want him to get hurt". Guntiver nodded as he stood up. He looked at the village, which still had some of Eggman's forces fighting. "Cmon, let's go take out the remainder of these bots!" Guntiver said as he and Silver ran off to liberate the village.

In the distance at a large cavern, a loud boom was heard followed by an explosion, that showed there was a heated battle taking place.

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_


	4. Chapter 3: Leading the Charge

**Lost Hedgehog Tales**

 _CHAPTER THREE: LEADING THE CHARGE_

A loud explosion echoed throughout the frozen walls of the caverns. Sonic the Hedgehog sped through the ice, sliding on it like a free princess. "WOOHOO!" he yelled enjoying the excitement rushing through him. The fun was short lived however, as a laser missed Sonic nearly by the cheek. Sonic yelped at the sight of how close that laser was and looked behind him. Speeding after him in a blazing fury was Metal Sonic, the robotic duplicate of Sonic himself, matching the organic hedgehog in every way whether it be speed or strength. Sonic, Tails, Amy and Silver along with the Arctic Freedom Fighters had failed a raid on the Death Egg and had escaped with their lives. They had found a very isolated village and had hid their for a few days trying to recover from the near death experience. But Metal Sonic, along with regional Egg Boss Tundra Walrus had found them and were causing havoc. It had been hours and Sonic and Metal were still duking it out, one-on-one. Sonic glanced back to see Metal Sonic was a little far away from Sonic and the blue hero couldn-t resist a smart remark.

"What's wrong Metal _faker?_ Can't keep up? Gee, I thought those upgrades would've helped by now but being the dolt you are and the bozo ol' eggy is, I shouldn't have gotten so worked up!" Sonic laughed. _Ooh, that was a good one,_ he thought. _I gotta come up with one of these for Egg-head._ But instigating Metal Sonic was the _last_ thing you want to do, because the robot was mad. And by mad, that meant he was roaring in anger and screamed at Sonic. "YOU BOTHERSOME LITTLE PEST! I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET INSULTING ME!" Metal Sonic suddenly sped up way faster than Sonic had anticipated and the cybernetic hedgehog grabbed Sonic by one of his quills. Sonic yelped in surprise as Metal suddenly lifted Sonic up and slammed him to the ground, then threw him into a nearby iceberg, which broke apart on impact. Sonic groaned in pain as he struggled to get up, but Metal rushed forward and grabbed him by the neck and pinned Sonic to the wall. Raising one of his hands, he sharpened the claws longer. Metal Sonic sneered at his rival.

"Got anything to say now my inferior rival?" Sonic merely smirked at the other one in front of him. "Actually, yeah. Your so sad because you think you can beat me every time we fight, but you know the truth and just don't want to accept it. Plus you also get angry _very_ easily. What, can't take a joke, _metalhead?_ " Sonic said to the robot. Metal Sonic roared in fury at the insult.

"HOW'S THIS FOR A JOKE, HEDGEHOG?!" Metal Sonic suddenly slashed Sonic across the face with his sharpened claws. Sonic screamed in pain as blood came out on the side of his face. Metal then threw Sonic across the cavern, sending the hedgehog crashing into three icebergs and sliding across the ice uncontrollably. Sonic almost slid off the ice and into the water, but luckily stopped right at the edge. He touched his cheek, and moaned in pain. _Okay, maybe talking trash was a bad idea. This guy definitly needs anger management,_ he thought as he grimaced at the cut. Sonic heard the sound of a sonic boom and knew Metal Sonic was not going to spare him, and the robot was definitly going to end up with a new paint job with Sonic's blood all over him. Sonic sprung to his feet and jumped in the air before Metal barreled into him. The robot hedgehog skidded to a stop as he turned to face his enemy. Instead, he was met with a foot to the face. Metal went flying due to the power Sonic put in that kick. Sonic sped after him, jumped up and homing attacked Metal sending the robot smashing into a wall. That shook the entire cavern a little. Sonic immediately stopped running and looked around, scratching his head.

"Whoa, better take it easy if I don't want to get buried here", he said. Suddenly the wall where Metal Sonic had crashed into exploded and a furious Metal Sonic floated out. "Sonic, this time you will die! Now I'm not holding back at all!" Metal Sonic then surrounded his entire body in electricity. "Burst Shield-Overdrive Matrix!" Metal Sonic shouted as the electricity sparked dangerously on his body. Sonic nervously backed away. That certainly didn't look fun. _Damn, I could see that this guy needed some anger management, but now he needs more than just that!_ Metal Sonic suddenly blasted right at Sonic, who shrieked and ducked out of the way. Metal zoomed over Sonic and turned around to chase Sonic who had started running.

"OH DAMN! OH DAMN! OH DAMN! NOT GOOD! WHAT DID EGGMAN DO TO THIS GUY?! HE'S WORSE THAN OMEGA!" Sonic yelled as he raced through the icy path. He glanced back and nearly fainted. Metal Sonic was gaining on Sonic, _really fast._ Sonic sped up in an effort to lose Metal but the robot sped up to and now was a few inches away from Sonic. Thinking quickly, Sonic jumped and air boosted to his left and grinded on an icy slope. Metal ended up crashing into a pillar, but it came down as the robot had breezed through as if it was nothing. Sonic kept grinding and boosted himself to go faster. Metal Sonic took out every obstacle he crashed into and every pillar was crumbling down. He suddenly flew under Sonic and directly up taking Sonic by surprise. Unfortunately for Sonic, he got hit with the attack dead-on and was flying up. He hit the ceiling and fell back down. Before he hit the ground, Metal swooped in grabbing Sonic's leg and blasting through the water. He held Sonic down so Sonic took a wave of cold, freezing water in his face. Then Metal threw Sonic across making him bounce on the water twice while spinning sideways. Sonic halted to a stop on the icy ground. Before he could get up, Metal grabbed him by the waist and threw him into a wall. Sonic fell back in Metal's arms after that and Metal Sonic continued throwing Sonic into the wall before grabbing him and tossing him aside. The blue speedster gasped and weezed as he struggled to catch his breath. His nose was now bloody and his whole body hurt. Metal stomped over to Sonic and let the hedgehog have it with a torso laser. Sonic immediately made contact with the ground after that. His stomach had burns on them now. Metal Sonic laughed at his fallen rival.

"Looks like your time is up, hedgehog. You thought you could flee from me and attack me while I least expect it. _Hah,_ that's not happening". When Sonic only glared miserably at Metal, the robot let out a sigh. "Look at, you. Battered and beaten and not in the shape to fight. We could have made great rulers, Sonic. Everything, this whole world would have belonged to us. But you see, being the hero gets you _nowhere_ , seeing your state now". Metal Sonic laughed. Sonic only spat out blood and glared at his rival. He couldn't do anything now. Metal had him cornered and not only that, but Sonic couldn't do anything to stop Metal from killing him.

"I'll never work with you, _bastard"_ , Sonic spat at the robot. Metal Sonic then let out a laugh. His right hand morphed into a light blue blade, crackling with thousands of volts of electricity. He then grabbed Sonic by the neck with his left hand and held the blade close to Sonic's chest. Sonic gulped as he felt the amount of energy the blade was giving off and knew there was no way he was going to survive this.

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye, my inferior copy", Metal said. He then prepared to thrust the blade into Sonic's chest. Sonic shut his eyes, not wanting to look. But before Metal Sonic could end Sonic's life, the cavern violently shook making Metal drop Sonic. The blue hedgehog gasped for air. The cavern was shaking alot more violetly as Metal Sonic was struggling to stay up. Sonic saw this as an opportunity. Gathering all of his strength, he shouted before slamming into Metal Sonic with enormous power. The robot lost his balance and went tumbling into an iceberg. Before the robot could get up, the ceiling started to split apart and one of the pieces-a big one came down on Metal, breaking apart. Sonic's eyes went wide as he realized what was happening.

"Oh no, this place is gonna cave in! I've gotta juice before I end up in a frosty tomb!" Sonic exclaimed before taking off. After Sonic had booked it, the buried pile where Metal Sonic was lying in suddenly exploded as the robot who was trapped under it roared in frustration. He was so close to killing Sonic and then this happens.

"I WILL NOT BE DEPRIVED OF MY GOAL TONIGHT SONIC!" Metal shouted as he took off after Sonic. As soon as Metal Sonic left, the entire room caved in, and the rest of the cavern was starting to cave in as well. As he was running, Sonic's mind raced with frantic thoughts. _I hope everyone's okay. Now I just gotta get to the exit, fast!_ Suddenly, there was a whooshing sound in the distance behind Sonic. His eyes went wide as he realized only one person could have made that sound. Sonic didn't even need to look back to know it was him, as Metal Sonic's voice boomed in the distance.

"YOU WILL NOT MAKE IT OUT OF HERE ALIVE SONIC! THIS CAVERN SHALL BE YOUR GRAVE!" Metal suddenly turned his Burst Shield on at full power, refusing to lose. He was so close, _so close,_ damn it. He slashed his blade fiercely at everything in his way. This made matters worse as the cavern was starting to cave in faster. Sonic looked in horror at what was happening and turned to face Metal, who had caught up with him and was now next to him.

"Metal, stop! You're gonna make this whole thing cave in on us!" Sonic shouted. Metal Sonic glared at the hedgehog. "Never! Until you are dead, I shall not stop my mission! I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD AS MY TROPHY!" Metal bellowed as he prepared to slice Sonic's head off clean with the blade. Sonic however slammed into Metal Sonic with his elbow and kicked the robot hard. Metal Sonic screamed as he fell down away from Sonic. "NNNOOOOO-" Metal's scream was cut short as he was buried by the avalanche the cavern was causing. Sonic then focused on getting out. He boosted himself at top speed and swerved left to right with his quick step in an effort to dodge falling debris. Seeing the exit, Sonic pushed himself farther and he rocketed out of the cavern just as it collapsed. Sonic spun into a ball in midair and landed on a snowy hill. He grunted as he rolled uncontrollably down and came to a stop at the bottom. His blue fur was gone and replaced by white tint everywhere. His shoes were nearly white as well. For a few minutes, Sonic didn't move, just staring at the sky thanking Chaos that he just lived through that. He took a few deep breaths trying to relax himself from the near-death experience. Slowly getting up, the cobalt hedgehog looked at the caverns, which was nothing more than a _BIG_ pile of mess.

"Oh man, that was too close! Metal me definitly wasn't playing around this time. I got lucky, but I dunno if it will last", he said. Sonic then looked back in the distance, where the village was located. "Well, time to go back now. I had my fun here and pretty sure the others cleared eggy's goons out. Hope there okay though" he mumbled before taking off in that direction.

 _Back at the village_

Sonic was right about the village being clean of Eggman's robots. The villagers were all escorted to the Town Hall to stay safe and seek shelter from the cold while their homes were being rebuilt. Tails sighed as he turned around and looked at the rest of the team. They all looked worn out and exhausted.

"Well, we helped rescue the village from Tundra and his men. Shame, he escaped otherwise we could've captured and interrogated him" Tails said as he sat down on a log that was a part of a tree trunk. Flip nodded. "Yeah, we sure showed them not to mess with us! Did you see how they ran with their butts off after we destroyed the big guns?" Erma nodded. "Still, that was a close one. Fighting off robots and legionized soldiers AND saving the villagers at the same time was not easy. We need to be careful next time". Amy sighed and looked out in the distance. _I hope Sonic is okay. Metal Sonic isn't easy to beat._

"Hello, earth to Amy! Are you there?" Amy suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and looked to see Erma was talking to her. "Huh, what?" she asked. Erma sighed. "We were just talking about how you handled the situation when Silver abandoned you to fight on his own?" Silver glared at Erma. "For your information, I went to go help Guntiver since he was getting his ass kicked by the Tundra. The walrus was going to kill him for chaos' sake!" Erma glared back at Silver. _God, does he ever shut up?_ She thought. Sealia stepped between the two. "My friends, ve are not fighting each other after ze long trouble ve vent through". Guntiver nodded.

"She's right. We already had enough trouble today. Let's not cause any more problems" he then glared at Erma. "And _no fighting._ " Erma and Silver just _hmph_ ed and turned away. "Hey guys", Augustus said. He was looking out in the distance with a pair of binoculars for any sign of their speedy friend. "Sonic's back" he said. Sure enough, there was Sonic soon skidded to a stop next to his friends. Snow flew from his feet as a result. "Hey guys", Sonic grinned. It was then everyone got a good look at him and gasped. Sonic stared at them confused. "What?" he asked. Amy walked up to him, a worried look on her face. She gently touched the scar on Sonic's cheek, which he recoiled sharply from. "What happened, Sonic?" she asked. Tails nodded. "Yeah, why do you look so beat up?" "And what's with the scar?" Flip asked. Sonic let out a light chuckle.

"Oh, this. Don't worry guys it's just a souvenir I bought back with me from the caverns". Guntiver looked in the distance where the caverns were. "What about Metal Sonic?" Sonic grinned. "Buried alive. The whole thing caved in on us because he kept slashing everything in sight with his little toy sword, but I escaped. Can't say about robo me, though". Augustus and Flip laughed and high-fived Sonic. Tails smiled and shook his head. _Leave it to Sonic to be in a scary situation and still crack a joke._ Amy put her hands on her hips. "Well, I don't think your fine. We're going to patch you up and go to sleep early. We have a long day ahead of us tommorow". Sonic groaned. "But Amy, it's still nine. It's _too_ early-" "No buts, mister hedgehog. Now stop whining like a five-year old and let's go!" And with that said, Amy grabbed Sonic by the ear and started dragging him to the Town Hall. Silver sighed. Those two will never change. T-Pup barked suddenly and started pulling Tails toward the Town Hall, saying that he was tired as well. Tails laughed at his little dog.

"Okay guys, come on let's get some shut eye as well. We have to attack the Death Egg tommorow and we need to be at our best if we want to pull this off". The others agreed and followed Tails inside the enormous castle. Tommorow would be a big day and Eggman's reign of terror would be over at last.

 _Masters' Quarters, Death Egg_

Dr. Eggman looked at one of his various monitors. He was in the master room aboard the Death Egg, his most powerfull battle station. He had won alot of victories with the help of this bad even had an unstoppable army of robots and Mobians. Hell, he even had an IQ of 300 for chaos' sake. With such power, one should be able to take over the entire world in a matter of days. But that was not the case for Eggman. He had just gotten the news of their recent failure from one of his Egg Bosses, Tundra Walrus. The mad doctor couldn't believe it. Team Fighters were already weak from their last attack on the Death Egg and they had been found and attacked when they had least expected it. Not only that, but the heroes were also greatly outnumbered. So how could lose against someone that has almost 1% chance of winning. It was absurd. Eggman cursed under his breath in frustration. A robot suddenly strolled up to Eggman. He was a little taller than T-Pup and almost the size of Cream the Rabbit. It had a sphere shaped body and was painted red. The robot also had blue eyes.

"Um, master?" the robot asked. Eggman sighed and turned around. "What now, Orbot? Can't you see I'm throwing my losing tantrum" he said. Orbot stood straight and spoke very politely. "The Egg Annihilator Beam has finished its repairs and the Chaos Emeralds are now powering it up as we speak" he said in a calm, monotone voice. Eggman sighed. At least _something_ good was coming out today. Orbot looked at his master with a confused look. "Are you alright, master? You look really stressed out" he said. Eggman was trying not to rage so hard that you could see fumes coming out of his ears. Orbot immediately realized that was a he made a mistake and stepped back. Eggman slammed his hands on the table and wheeled around.

"WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE, YOU BLABBERING LITTLE PESTICIDE! I JUST FAILED TO FINALLY FINISH OFF SONIC AND HIS FRIENDS IN THE STUPIDEST WAY! I AM SO MAD RIGHT NOW JUST WANT TO TAKE A KNIFE AND KEEP STABBING THAT HEDGEHOG UNTIL I GET TIRED! YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M GOING TO TAKE MY ANGER OUT ON YOU JUST BECAUSE I CAN!" Eggman yelled as he whacked Orbot on the back of his head. "Noooo, sir! Pleeeaaassssseeee!" Orbot screamed as he was violently spun around. Eggman sighed and turned around to look at the monitors. _Aaah, that felt good._

" _Oui! Ze hedgehog haz deefeeted us again! Hee eez making our plans go KAPUT!_ " a loud voice echoed throughout the room. "Oh no..." Eggman sighed. Another robot strode up to Eggman. He looked very similar to Orbot, except he was painted yellow and resembled a cube. "Vat is haapeneeng?" he asked, in a really wierd accent. Orbot sighed as he strode up to his friend. "Cubot, we failed to capture Team Fighters, who were hiding in an isolated village", he explained. Cubot, however wasn't even listening as he was just sitting there staring at the wall smiling, lost in his own thoughts. Eggman turned to Orbot. "Any news on Metal Sonic?" Orbot shook in his head. "Negative, sir. I haven't found any readings yet". Eggman put a hand to his hand. Great. Not only did Tundra fail to capture Sonic, but now his greatest creation was also not responding and was lost somewhere. _Oh well, at least I still have the manuscripts. I'm going to need those for my master plan as well as that new super powered robot I'm working on right now._ A small smile formed on the doctor's mouth. Oh, Sonic was in for a big surprise once his plans started coming together. "Oui! Doctoor Eegman! Don't u vorry about all zis! Ve vill get revenge on ze hedgie so stop crying about it!" Eggman just back-handed Cubot right after the droid said that. However, this caused Cubot to switch personalities. " _Wha' mate? How's about we sit and talk all this diddly dandy over a cup o' tea and crumpets!"_ Eggman's faced turned redder than an over-spiced chili dog. "SHUT UP YOU STUPID LITTLE CHATTERING TRASH CAN!" Eggman bellowed as he _kicked_ Cubot out of the room like a football. Orbot just shrank back when Eggman looked at him, furious. "Go and get your little blabbering comrade and start working on my new robot _at once!_ " Orbot didn't need to be asked twice. He sped out of the room, nearly fast as Sonic yelling on his way out "Yessir!". Eggman then collapsed in his seat and took a deep breath. He put a hand to his head. He suddenly sprang back up and yelled out loud "AND SOMEBODY FIX THAT ANNOYING YELLOW BOX'S VOICE CHIP!"

 _The next morning, at the village,_

Today was the day. The day Eggman would accept defeat at last by the efforts of Team Fighters and the Arctic Freedom Fighters. After so many years of evil, Eggman would finally pay for his crimes. The cold, crisp wind blew harshly as Sonic looked out in the distance. Nothing but a barren land of snow that stretched out miles and miles. Trudging in the snow, everyone was ready to fight. After a long time, Mobius will finally be at peace. Silver suddenly shouted.

"Guys, I see it!" He was talking about the Death Egg, of course. Themassive battlestation could be easily seen in a large field of snow, that was ten times the size of a football field. Their siege, would not be an easy one for there were clusters of Eggman's baddies all over the snow. There were numerous Egg SWATs, as well as Tundra's legionized men. Some other robots were also there such as the Egg Walkers, large walking arsenals that had very thick armor. Egg Drones were also flying around. There were also many cannons and tanks as well and stationed on the biggest one with a huge cannon turret was Tundra Walrus, talking to some of his men. Silver grit his teeth. It was time to save his future at last. Once they freed Sally, Eggman wouldn't be a problem. Sonic looked at everyone.

"Okay, we all know what we have to do, right?" Guntiver grinned. "Just charge in there and start busting some heads!" Everyone else cheered. Sonic smiled."Okay then, let's go! For Sally and everyone else who had to suffer, _charge!"_ Sonic yelled as they all burst through the snow and started running towards the battlefront yelling and shouting battle cries like a pack of wild animals. Tundra looked in their direction and his eyes nearly popped out. "Load up your weapons, charge up the cannons and _attack!_ " he yelled as gunfire and lasers bounced in every direction. Pretty soon it was all out mayhem. There were explosions, shouting and just pure madness. Sonic looked around him. There was not a single place to hide or take cover. _We gotta do this fast and correctly or die!_ he thought as he dodged a laser. Sonic then horse-kicked the soldier in front of him, sieging his weapon and started firing at a horde of robots. He then threw the gun at another soldier, punched him straight in the face and homing attacked another one. Silver was doing amazingly good. Using his psychic powers at an advantage, the futuristic hedgehog was untouchable. He levitated at least a dozen Egg SWATs off the ground and through them at two Egg Walkers, creating a massive explosion. Silver then proceeded to fly and kick a soldier of a cannon. He then sat down and stared at the controls in confusion.

"Huh, now how do I fire?" he said, not noticing a red dot was aimed at his chest. Tundra held the sniper firmly as he looked through the scope and saw himself aiming directly for Silver's chest. "Time for some revenge" Tundra said as he snickered. But suddenly the tank he was in rocked with great force causing Tundra to drop the sniper in the snow. "No!" he cried. He looked at what caused the damage. Apparently an Egg Walker had crashed onto the side of the tank and now there was a moderate sized dent. Tundra flared with anger. He then pressed a button on his tank. "Calling for reinforcements at once!" he barked. Meanwhile, the fight was going well for the heroes. They hadn't faced any problems yet and the big robots were not even that hard to take down. Amy swung her hammer in a circle, smashing five Egg SWATs at once. She smirked.

"Looks like the hammer's coming to town!" she said before running and smashing another three Egg SWATs along with two soldiers. Guntiver dodged a cannon firing and spin-kicked a soldier down. "Augustus, clear the way!" he yelled. His polar bear friend then came charging at the cannon with wide open arms yelling. The soldier operating the cannon jumped out in fear, as the cannon was crushed due to Augustus' strength. Erma and Sealia both were using the Egg Walkers as an advantage, firing at enemy bots and soldiers, getting rid of obstacles faster. Flip and Tails both slammed two soldiers with a spin attack and Tails grabbed an egg shaped RPG from the fallen soldier. He then shouted to Flip. "I'm gonna go help Sonic out! Will you be okay on your own?" Flip grinned.

"You go help your bro out! I'll be alright!" He said, as Tails took off firing off rockets as he went. Silver carried a few boulders with his powers and hurled them at two enemy tanks, blowing them up. Sonic ran around, completly taking out the opposers with his agility and deadly spin dash. Tails flew behind him. "Wanna do the tag team tactic we've been working on?" Tails yelled to Sonic, who in turn grinned at his buddy. "Heck yea! It's time to show these losers not to mess with Team Fighters!" He and Tails both then jumped and clasped their hands together. They both spun into a giant blue and yellow spin dash and blazed through enemy lines. The combined spin dash fiercly took out Eggman's robots and knocked several soldiers out cold. Tundra wearily looked at what was happening. He had to inform his master, otherwise things would be very catastrophic.

 _Master Quarters, Death Egg_

"WHAT!" Eggman's voice bellowed throughout the entire battle station. Orbot and Cubot both jumped hearing their master's voice. "Their winning? How is that possible?" Eggman yelled. He had _not_ expected Sonic and his friends to attack so soon. With the ambush at the village, he thought they would take more time to heal up. "AAARRRGGGH! Just when I'm about to relocate the Death Egg! No matter, I will carry out that plan, because Sonic and his friends won't survive!" He then madly began chuckling. Orbot then intervened. "With all due respect doctor, Sonic and his friends have a high chance of winning, considering how they are wiping out our unit". Eggman stopped laughing then without saying a word, he took out an egg shaped RPG and aimed it at his two servants, who cowered in fear. Eggman then grinned. "You were saying?" Orbot frantically shook his head. "N-no sir! Sonic and his fiends will p-perish!" Eggman then threw the weapon down and grabbed his two robots with both hands. "THEN STOP BUGGING ME AND GET TO WORK YOU LAZY OBNOXIOUS BAFOONS!" he yelled as he bashed both robots heads together and sent them screaming away. Eggman then grinned evily, rubbing both hands. "Sonic, you stand no chance". While all this madness was going on, somewhere far off in the village was about to happen. Where once used to be large, frozen caverns was now a GIGANTIC pile of ice and snow. In the middle of the rubble, a metallic hand shot out, crackling with electricity.

 _Back at the battlefront,_

Sonic and Tails had torn through half the enemies with their attack and the two high-fived for their accomplishment. However, more Egg Pods were dropping from the Death Egg and out came more robots. "How many more are there?" Flip yelled, obviously tired of fighting. Erma sighed. "Still alot, since its Eggman. Once Sonic can get into the Death Egg and stop Eggman, it will all be over". Flip nodded as he continued to fight. "Hope your right", he said before back-flipping into a soldier. Augustus just grinned and clenched his fists. "More for me to smash, heh", he said before body slamming five Egg SWATs at once, taking them all out. Sealia sighed at the sight. "So beautiful, mon" she said before punching a soldier and knocking him out. Amy ran up to Sonic. "We have to get in the Death Egg _now!_ " she said. Sonic nodded. A whole squadron of Egg SWATs and Egg Walkers suddenly charged at the two. Sonic and Amy both nervously gulped at the sight. A tank suddenly came crashing down on the robots, wiping them all out.

"Your welcome!" Silver yelled to them as he picked up another tank, making the operating soldier fall off and threw it at another tank which exploded. That explosion also destroyed at least 20 Egg Pods and the robots inside. Sonic grinned at Silver. _Saved by the kid I beat up. How embarassing._ Sonic thought as he spin dashed into an Egg Walker's leg, sending it crashing down. Tundra yelled from the biggest tank. "You'll never leave here alive!" he shouted firing the cannon. The explosion was massive, knocking everyone off there feet within range. Sonic glared at Tundra as an idea came to his mind. "Amy, I'm gonna use that tank to get into the Death Egg by blasting it open!" he said. Amy grinned. "Go for it" she said smashing her hammer on a soldier's head. Sonic then sped up to the tank and leapt into the air, rapidly homing attacking any robots in his way. He landed on the tank.

"Tails, I'm on the tank! You gotta help me with the controls!" Sonic yelled to his brother who was flying away from five Egg Drones. "A little busy at the moment!" the fox yelled as he dodged a bullet. Tundra glared at Sonic. "I'll skin you alive, hedgehog!" he said. Sonic glared back. "I like to see you try _fat ass!_ " he countered back. Suddenly a loud boom was heard in the distance. Sonic froze, not wanting to believe his mind. Tundra, who immediatly knew who it was, took out his communicator and spoke into it. "Sir, Metal Sonic is back" he said while grinning.

" _What? Where has he been? No matter, now that he's here the heroes are finished! Keep on attacking and don't let your guard down!"_ Eggman's voice boomed in the communicator. "Yes sir", Tundra said before turning off his communicator. Sure enough Metal Sonic was back and zooming through the warzone taking out everything that came in his way. He stopped in front of Sonic and stood. "Hahaha, you thought you could get rid of me? Too bad. Now I will ahve your head as my trophy _Sonic!_ " Metal Sonic boomed and drew his blade. Sonic gulped at the sight of that. _He really means business._ Sonic then charged at Metal Sonic, who in turn charged back. Both let out a flurry of punches and kicks dodging each one. Metal Sonic then tried to cut Sonic apart by slashing his blade. However, Sonic just dodged. Silver saw what was happening and picked an Egg SWAT up before chucking it at Metal while Sonic spin dashed towards the robot hedgehog. Metal Sonic just stood there and activated a shield. "Black Shield: Defensive Matrix" he said as a black colored, diamond shaped shield surrounded Metal. Sonic bounced off the shield while the robot exploded upon impact, not harming Metal. The robot then lunged towards Sonic blade ready to rip him apart. However Tails interfered by slamming into Metal Sonic with a flying kick, followed by a spin dash. Sonic flashed his buddy a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Tails! I thought I was done back there!" Tails just smiled. "No problem Sonic!" he said. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Metal Sonic yelled as he suddenly grabbed Tails with great speed and knocked Sonic down. Metal held the blade close to Tails' chest. Sonic looked in horror at what was happening. Tails just quivered with fear. Metal glared at Sonic. "Come closer and I will tear him apart hedgehog!" Metal said. Sonic however shook with rage. "I'll kill you, you stupid copy machine!" Sonic yelled as he lunged for Metal. Metal just shot a red laser out of his eyes at Sonic who was pushed back. "Now I will kill your little fox friend and then _you will be next!_ " Metal Sonic yelled as he prepared to plunge the blade into Tails' chest. The two tailed fox just shut his eyes, not wanting to see. But suddenly, Metal Sonic was surrounded in cyan energy and was given an electric shock. Silver held his palm out and yelled to Sonic, "I've disabled him! Finish him off before he recovers!" The blue hedgehog didn't need to be told twice. He rushed towards Metal, pried Tails away and gave a hard solid punch to the side of the robots face. There was now a hole in Metal's left cheek. "That's for slashing me!" Sonic yelled as he drew his arm back and smashed it through Metal's torso, completly disabling the laser. Metal Sonic was then thrown in the air and slammed back on the ground by Sonic who was spinning and digging his quills into Metal's face. The robot screamed. Sonic then kicked Metal away. The robot then slowly stood up. He was a terrible mess. The torso had a massive hole and was majorly dented. Metal's legs had alot of dents and were bent and one of his eyes on his visor weren't working. Metal Sonic let out a crooked robot laugh.

"You may have won this time, Sonic. But next time, you won't be lucky". Metal then lunged at Sonic and tackled him, attempting to knock the hedgehog off the tank. Sonic just grabbed Metal and with great force, threw the robot over his head. Metal Sonic screamed as he was sent hurtling towards the main tank's cannon. Tundra looked in fear as he knew what was going to happen. " _Shit!_ " the walrus yelled before leaping off, and running away as far as he could. Metal Sonic crashed into the cannon and the soon, there was a HUMONGOUS explosion, as the tank and Metal Sonic were completly obliterated. Anything within the radius of the tank was blown up as well and the next thing you knew, more than half of Eggman's troops were wiped out. Luckily, Sonic and Tails had gotten away from the explosion at the last second. They screamed as they were knocked forward by the force and fell in the snow. Amy and the rest of the fighters looked with shock. That was by far the biggest explosion and it took out more than half of Eggman's troops. It had also blasted a moderate sized hole on the Death Egg. Sonic scratched his head as he looked at the aftermath.

"Well, not the way I was going for, but that works too". Tundra, who was luckily far away from the explosion, took cover and hid behind a rock. He took out his communicator and spoke. "Dr. Eggman, this is a disaster! Metal Sonic has been destroyed along with the main tank! There is also a hole in the Death Egg! This is terrible!" On the other end, Eggman was heard screaming and raging his butt off.

"Arrgghh! How is this possible? No matter, I still have a back-up plan. You just keep commanding your unit to fight the fighters and help stall!" Eggman then shut his communicator off. Oh that hedgehog would pay. The mad doctor then called his two servants Orbot and Cubot. The two quickly scrambled up to their master. "Yes sir?" Orbot asked. "Yo, wat up?" Cubot asked in yet another voice. Eggman facepalmed himself since Cubot's voice chip was not yet fixed. "Nver mind, you two finish the upgrades and enhancements on the new robot, while I try out my newest toy with that blasted hedgehog!" Orbot and Cubot both ran off to do their work while Eggman walked to his newest machine.

Pretty soon after, Sonic along with Tails and Amy jumped through the hole and on to the Death Egg. "Here we are, the final stretch!" Sonic said. Amy held up her hammer. "I can't wait to smack Eggman with this! I've been itching to do this for a while!" Amy said as she twirled her hammer. Tails looked around. "I'm pretty sure Eggman is planning something big. With an army so powerful, he needs to be stopped. We need to get ahold of Eggman's plans!" Sonic grinned. "Right-o, buddy!" Suddenly there was a loud crash and a giant robot came crashing through the ceiling. It was bulky, with a round shaped body, spikes on each shoulder. It had an enormous shield and a mace cannon on each arms. Its legs had spikes and the feet had spikes as well. The torso had Eggman's logo on it and its head was the shape of a Roman warrior's helmet. Its face had a V-shaped visor, showing the mad doctor inside. It was colored dark green and brown.

"BEHOLD, THE EGG GLADIATOR! THIS MACHINE WILL STOMP YOU INTO A BLUE JELLO YOU STUPID HEDGEHOG!" Eggman's voice boomed through the robot. Sonic smirked. Such a brilliant invention deserved a true complement. "Gee doc, the Egg Gladiator? Looks like you didn't put alot of effort into this one. It looks just like the Egg Beater suit you used to burn Knothole, only bigger with a new paint job! At least it looks prettier than you!" Sonic remarked. Tails and Amy laughed behind him. Eggman was infuriated. "I'll show you who has a prettier face, you ignorant little rat!" Eggman yelled before raising the mace cannon and shooting out a large mace at the three heroes. They all dodged and went separate ways. Tails flew behind the robot, while Amy ran up and struck the right leg with her hammer. Sonic just leapt up and ran up the mace and jumped. He then homing attacked the face of the robot. This caused this to lurch back into Tails' tail swipe attack. The Egg Gladiator had suffered some damage due to the teamwork of the heroes.

"Arrghhh! I'll make you pay! How's this?" Eggman shouted as the gladiator let out a fury of homing fire missiles at the heroes. Sonic, Tails and Amy all yelled and tried to dodge the onslaught, but were struck by the missiles no matter what. Sonic brushed his arm and stood up dizzy. Eggman then shot his mace cannon out directly at the heroes. Tails and Amy recovered and quickly scrambled out the way. Unfortunately for Sonic, the mace hit him dead on. The hedgehog slammed into the wall and slid down dazed at what just happened. The Egg Gladiator then started to stomp towards Sonic. Tails and Amy tried to stop the mad doctor, but he just let out a barrage of fiery missiles at the two and both were on the ground gasping for air. The Egg Gladiator then tried to grab Sonic, but the hedgehog had picked himself up and homing attacked the torso. The Egg Gladiator lurched back. Sonic, still in the air then air boosted the robot in the face and then hit it with a charged up homing attack. The Egg Gladiator fell down and Sonic proceeded to power stomp the torso, creating a huge dent on it. Eggman screamed in fury and blasted Sonic off with the mace cannon, then smacked the hedgehog with the shield. He then kicked the Sonic back into the wall, to Sonic's dismay. Eggman sneered at Sonic.

"How's it going, my little friend? Surprised at the sheer strength of this bad boy?" Eggman said before charging up a turret that was stationed at the side of the robot's head. Suddenly the Egg Gladiator was struck by a tremendous force to the side, then to the left leg along with the right leg. Eggman looked to see that Amy had caused the damage and she was about to cause more if the doctor hadn't moved out the way. But then the robot was struck on the side if the face where the turret was. The little mini cannon ended up destroyed, due to Tails' tail swipe. "How's that for teamwork, egg-head!" Sonic yelled before charging up a spin dash and launching himself at the robot, completly cutting through its torso. The Egg Gladiator then crumpled to the ground, defeated. Eggman pounded his fists in rage as he screamed in anger.

"CURSE YOU, SONIC! I WAS SO CLOSE AND THEN YOU GO RUIN IT FOR ME LIKE ALWAYS!" the mad doctor screamed. Tails then saw a bunch of papers that looked old and ancient by the doctors' side. He picked them up and looked at them. His eyes went wide at what was contained in them. Eggman looked at Tails in horror, before lunging at him. "GIVE THOSE BACK, YOU DESPICABLE MISCREANT!" Eggman shouted, but the two tailed fox just side stepped him and let the fat man faceplant. "Geez, and I thought I needed to relax" Sonic said, scratching his head at the sight. He then walked up to Eggman and put both hands on his hips. "Its over eggy, we won. Now call back your troops! _We're taking you to the New Mobotropolis Detention Center!"_ said the hedgehog. Eggman growled at his enemy. "Never. It's never over". Sonic snorted. "Wanna bet bozo?" Amy then walked up to Eggman and held her hammer firmly. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time" she said before pulling back her arm and letting the doctor have it with a hammer in his face. The egg shaped man shrieked in pain and held both hands to the face and fell down. "It's over" Sonic said before turning to his brother.

"What's wrong, buddy? You look like you saw a ghost" he said. Tails just looked at his older brother with a worried glance. "This is a Gaia Manuscript, Sonic. I can tell by looking at the pictures. A friend of mine had told me about these at a presentation I attended a few months back. I don't know what it says, but Eggman definitly planning to do something with this". "Well, you think your friend could help us decode it or something. I mean, he told you about this so he should know something, right?" Tails nodded. "He lives in the country of Spagonia. He has a university there and a laboratory. His name is Professor Pickle". Sonic nodded. "Great, so we know what to do now. We go to Spagonia and meet this Pickle guy. But _not_ before stopping at New Mobotropolis and locking _him_ up". Sonic said pointing at Eggman. The mad doctor just growled. "I'm not getting locked up anytime soon". He then pressed a button on his jacket, causing the Egg Gladiator to blow up, sending Team Fighters out the hole of the Death Egg and into the snow. Eggman, who had surprisingly taken cover, got up dusting himself off and ran back to the master quarters. "Orbot, Cubot! Call everyone back at once, we're leaving! _Now!_ " Eggman's voice bellowed throughout the Death Egg. Back on the ground, things had been going well for the heroes. Silver and the Arctic Freedom Fighters had nearly wrapped this up. Guntiver then noticed Sonic, Tails and Amy on the ground. He and Erma ran over to help them up.

"Are you alright?" Erma asked. Tails and Amy nodded, but Sonic just looked at the Death Egg, which was now beggining to rise up in the air. "No, we have to hurry and get back up there! We have to save Sally!" Sonic then tried to run over to the tanks and parkour up the Death Egg, but Augustus grabbed him. "Wait Sonic! It's too late now! The damn thing is too high up there!" the polar bear yelled. Sonic shook his head. "No, I'm saving Sally right now!" He then broke free of Augustus' grasp and tried to run, but was stopped by Silver's psychic. "Sonic calm down! We'll save her next time, its okay!" Sonic struggled. "No, we were so close! Dammit how did we not see that coming!" They were all suddenly knocked down by Tundra, who zoomed past them in an Egg Mobile. He smiled and flew up in to the Death Egg. Everyone sighed. They were so close. So close to stopping Eggman and saving Sally. But the doctor had tricked them again and escaped. Sonic was on his knees. Amy put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sonic, its okay. We'll save her next time. And we will also put Eggman behind bars too. Now that we know what he does, we'll be ready". Sonic sighed and smiled. "Yeah, your right. I guess I'm overreacting. C'mon lets head back to New Mobotropolis to rest up and see our families. Then we'll head for Spagonia. Thanks Guntiver. You and your team really helped us out". Guntiver laughed. "Oh come on, its nothing! Rather we should be thanking you for asking us to help. It was a real honor to fight alongside you guys". The others yelled "Yeah!" Tails and Amy laughed. Sonic then turned to Silver. " Hey, thanks for helping us. I know we haven't been on the right path lately, but I hope that changes soon". Silver smiled. "It's cool, really. I can understand how you feel. I had fun today, to be honest". The others agreed. "Yeah, good luck on saving your future", Sonic said. "Yeah, and don't accuse more people", Erma said. Silver glared at her, while she stuck out her tongue. Everyone laughed at the sight. "Well, I better get going", Silver said. Sonic grabbed his hand. "Wait, you never told me why you accused Sally of being the traitor". Silver slapped his forehead. "Of course! The reason is that she would defeat all of you on the Death Egg, if I weren't there. My solution wasn't to kill her, but it was to _save_ her from roboticization". Sonic's eyes widened. "Oh man, I'm sorry for beating you up!" Silver smiled. "It's cool". He then threw a Super Warp Ring and waved goodbye as he stepped through the portal. As soon as it closed, Tails sighed. "Well, let's head back. T-Pup hates waiting and the Tornado should be good to go". The others nodded. Soon, it was sunset. The Arctic Freedom Fighters waved goodbye as Team Fighters flew away on the Tornado back home. Though it was a fun ride, the heroes were in for a big surprise when they got home. And thus, was the start of a new adventure.

 _TO BE CONTINUED_

 ***Author's Note: And that finally wraps it up for the very first arc in the story! God, this took such a long time and I was in a huge rush to get it done. What are these Gaia Manuscripts? Where is Doctor Eggman going to move the Death Egg? And what surprises lie in store for them? Find out in the next chapter!**

 **Remember guys, I'm new to fanfiction so my writing might not be that good and detailed. There might be some rushed parts so please go easy on me! Also there will be a number of couples throughout the story so please don't hate. Anyway, we'll meet in the next chapter! Until next time!**

 **EPIC Out.**


	5. Chapter 4: Knuckles' Quest Part 1

**Lost Hedgehog Tales**

 _CHAPTER 4: KNUCKLES' QUEST PART 1; ANGEL ISLAND_

Angel Island, one of Mobius' most majestic landmarks. The island was very large with beautiful mountain regions and grassy plains. There were many residents on Angel Island, mostly the echidnas. But the most amazing thing about this island was the fact that it was in the _sky._ The beautiful island was able to float in the sky because of one object: The Master Emerald. The Master Emerald was a humongous green colored emerald, that rested in its shrine. The gem was the most powerful of all the Chaos Emeralds and had amazing power. The island used to be part of a mountain but thanks to the technology the echidnas had invented, the island was able to float. In the island's place was a large crater that had become a thriving city known as Downunda. Thanks to the Master Emerald powering the island, it was able to move and was now directly above what used to be a powerful and luxurious kingdom known as Albion. However due to certain events, the kingdom was now nothing more than a bunch of broken and torn down buildings and was currently not inhabited. Angel Island was one of Mobius' most popular legends. People were always trying to find the floating island and take the Master Emerald. However, thanks to the great efforts of an echidna, the emerald was safe. Speaking of which, the echidna was lying down right next to the emerald, looking at the sky. He was a red colored echidna, with spikes on both his fists, red, green and yellow shoes and a crest that seemed to go along his abdominems. The echidna's name was Knuckles. His purple eyes stared at the sky thinking about his life. His life had been... strange. He had lost alot within the past year. Recently, a sinister echidna named Dr. Finitevus had managed to get on the island and corrupted the Master Emerald. With the help of his goons, the Destructix, he was successfully able to capture Knuckles and use the corrupted emerald to turn the red echidna into the terrifying god Enerjak. As the god, Enerjak had used his powers to transport the Dingo population to Sandopolis to start their civilization over as a punishment for their crimes against the echidnas. Then, he had transported the echidnas from the great city of Echidnapolis to the kingdom of Albion. He also used his magic to cleanse the Dark Egg Legion echidnas of their cybernetics and freed Albion's leader Remington. However, some echidnas like Lien-Da, komissar of the now Egg Army, didn't want Enerjak's help and she along with other echidnas stayed with Eggman. Enerjak had then proceeded to attack New Mobotropolis, but was stopped. He and Super Sonic had engaged in a heated battle that could have destroyed the world if not for the efforts of Locke the Echidna, father of Knuckles. Locke had used the Master Emerald and cleared its corruption, thus freeing Knuckles but lost his life in the process. Knuckles had been hunting Finitevus since then. And just a week ago, a sinister tasmanian devil named Thrash had invaded Angel Island and transported all the remaining echidnas along with Knuckles' girlfriend Julie-Su to an unknown location. He had even cleared Albion. Knuckles, along with the help of Team Fighters had fought Thrash, then the echidna had to face the devil alone when Team Fighters had been locked in a fight with Metal Knuckles. The fight was close and Thrash managed to escape. Since then, Knuckles hadn't been himself. The nice, happy guardian was now replaced by a depressed, very serious guardian. The good side was that Knuckles was now even more devoted to protecting the Master Emerald. The bad side, well, he was _too_ devoted. The guardian was always at the shrine 24/7, sometimes not even getting any sleep. Right now, he was doing the usual; guarding the Master Emerald like always. Knuckles closed his eyes, remembering the conflicts. _Why is it me all the time? I always mess up and pay for it dearly._ Suddenly, a noise was heard and the echidna heard the sound of footsteps running toward him and felt the wind blowing towards him to imply that some was also flying toward him. He then opened one eye and looked at the ones that had disturbed his moment of peace. There were two figures. One was an armadillo with red hair and boots. He also was wearing brown arm-bands and had blue eyes. He also had fingerless gloves. The other was a yellow colored squirrel with blue shoes, blue scar, gray goggles on his head and white gloves. Like the armadillo, the squirrel also had blue eyes. These were two of his friends and allies that lived on Angel Island with him. The armadillo's name was Mighty and like his name, he was known for his strength. He also was an expert at martial arts. The squirrel's name was Ray and he had some unique abilities. He could fly and was a great strategist. The squirrel had a problem with stuttering, but he was slowly starting to get rid of that problem. Knuckles then stood up and crossed his arms, waiting for what they had to say.

"Knuckles, w-we got good n-news!" Ray exclaimed. Mighty nodded. "Like you said, we spent weeks investigating the incident you told us about and we got some info". Knuckles' eyes widened and listened carefully as Mighty explained. "Apparently, Thrash had a vendetta against the echidnas of Albion, who had used and mutated his species for experiments. Being the last of his kind, Thrash, along with his two sisters who were Devil Dogs went to find a way to exterminate the entire echidna population. But after he met you, he decided since you were a sole hero, he would let you live and leave you as the last of your species as revenge", Mighty said. Knuckles fists balled up tight and he closed his eyes gritting his teeth. "All of this... just because my ancestors' had done a sin and now he thinks its funny to leave me as the last of my species!" Knuckles yelled. Ray quickly hid behind Mighty, while the armadillo raised his hands in defense. "Chill, Knux! We haven't even finished explaining yet. We have a lead as to where we can find Thrash. We were investigating Albion, searching for survivors. But there weren't any, sorry. However, we found some papers that Thrash might have dropped". Mighty said. Ray nodded. Knuckles looked at his friends in confusion.

"How do you know it belongs to Thrash?" Knuckles questioned. Mighty and Ray looked at each other. "I-its from Downunda", Ray said. Knuckles' eyes went wide and he nodded. "What's it say?" Mighty then took out a crumpled up paper and handed it to Knuckles. "They're blueprints or something. I dunno what they are but Thrash was definitly planning something". Knuckles smirked. "Well, looks like he won't be doing whatever he had planned anymore. I'm going to Downunda for some answers and then I'm gonna track that devil down and make him _pay!_ " Knuckles said as he pounded his fists together. "Wait, we're coming with you. The guy's dangrous and you might need help", Mighty said. Ray jumped up. "Yea!" Knuckles shook his head. "No. This is my fight. I don't want anyone getting involved. It could also endanger your lives, guys. Besides, someone needs to guard the Master Emerald". Mighty shook his head. "Sorry red, but we're coming with you whether you like it or not. Don't forget, my strength rivals yours and Ray is really good at planning so we'll be alot of help to you. And about the emerald, don't worry. I already had asked the other members of the Chaotix to guard it, so nothing to worry about", Mighty said grinning. Ray jumped with excitement. "Yea, Knuckles! We'll h-help you find that guy and y-you'll get your people back!" the squirrel said. Knuckles smiled. It was good to have friends like this. "Alright, you guys can come", the echidna said. Ray yelled with excitement and Mighty grinned. Knuckles turned and threw a ring which opened up a portal that led to Downunda. _I'm coming for you Thrash. Your going to be sorry you ever messed with me._

 _ **New Mobotropolis,**_

The kingdom was doing great. Ever since Naugus' takeover and Elias Acorn's dissapearance, the kingdom had been plagued in a civil war. Half the people were still followers of the Acorn dynasty, while others went to Naugus. However, after recent events the people were friendly toward each other. Recently, Team Fighters had gone on a mission to free Sally from Eggman's control but hadn't returned. Team Freedom was retired now, since Heavy and Bomb had been destroyed and Cream was too young to fight dangerous missions. Rotor's back though, was healing really fast and the walrus was now flexible. And not only that, but something big had gone down in the Pit and now King Naugus was ill and nowhere to be seen. But that didn't stop his apprentice and traitor Geoffrey St. John from keeping order. The skunk was not someone to be messed with. Especially since he had ixis powers like his master. Rosie Woodchuck saw Geoffrey walking along the road, smiling broadly. She sighed.

"G'morning, sir", she said. "How's his majesty feelin'?" Geoffrey smiled. "He's getting better". And with that, the skunk walked away. Rosie shook her head and went back to picking flowers. Geoffrey walked inside Castle Acorn. It had been rebuilt and was shining beautifully. Geoffrey walked inside where the rest of the council members were waiting. The Council of Acorn was the democratic body of New Mobotropolis. It consisted of seven members: Dylan Porcupine, Hamlin Pig, Sir Charles "Chuck" Hedgehog, Rosemary Prower, Penelope Platypus, Isabella Mongoose, and the king himself Ixis Naugus. However, since Naugus was not present Geoffrey took his place. Clearing his throat, the skunk began.

"As you may know, Naugus is currently ill right now. Due to some... recent events, he is not able to make it at the meeting, so he has instructed me to attend it for him", Geoffrey said. The rest of the council members grumbled. They _really_ did not like Naugus and his takeover. "So anyway, as you know the king was disturbed by these group of people whose identities remain unknown. He has specifically ordered more defense built around the city and for authorities to investigate the matter. Once we find these people, they will _pay"_. Geoffrey said coldly. The others mumbled "yessir", not really interested. Unknown to all of them, a certain owl was eavesdropping on the conversation. His name was Harvey Who, director and founder of these group of people. He quietly took out a communicator and whispered in it. "Elias, it seems they're onto you. It is not safe in the city right now, so just stay underground until further notice", he said. "Yes sir", a voice firmly said on the other end of the communicator. Who shut off the communicator and continued to listen to the meeting. _Oh, just wait until we carry out our master strike, Geoffrey. Then you and your master will wish you'd never even thought about taking over our kingdom._ And with that, Harvey Who walked away.

 _ **New Mobotropolis; Freedom HQ**_

The plane landed smoothly on the runaway and slowly came to a stop. Sonic leapt off the wing and stretched his arms out. "Wooh, man. Good to be home. I sure ain't gonna miss winter anytime soon". Tails exited the plane along with T-Pup and Amy. "Yup, you got that right. I've had enough of snow for a while", Tails said while petting his dog. Amy sighed and took off her coat. "Wow, it feels good to be warm again!" the pink hedgehog exclaimed. Sonic snickered. "Oh, come on Ames. It wasn't that cold". Amy glared at Sonic. "We were in Holoska, Sonic. You may be used to the cold, but I'm not. I have very delicate skin you know", she said. Tails then looked around. "Nothing's destroyed, that's good", he said. Sonic walked up to his best friend. "Happy, now? Dude, you were literally freaking out on what was gonna happen to the city if we left it! I told you there was nothing to worry about. Rotor is smart and a good fighter. Team Freedom had verything under control!" Sonic said, while slapping Tails' back. Amy took a deep breath. "Mmm, feels good to smell something else beside snow and ice and...snow", she said.

"Sonic, Tails, Amy!" someone shouted. Everyone turned to find Rosie Woodchuck running up to them. Amy smiled. "Hey Rosie. What's wrong you look stressed". Rosie frantically shook her head. Sonic frowned. "Is everything alright here?" Rosie nodded. "You missed alot. Team Freedom is no more!" she said. Sonic, Tails and Amy jumped with shock. "WHAT?!" they shouted. Rosie slapped herself. That came out wrong. "I mean, they've disbanded. Rotor's back is better, Vanilla decided to take Cream out and keep her safe after she nearly got killed, Big is still there fit and fine, and Heavy and Bomb were destroyed", she said panting. Team Fighters sighed with relief. Good to know their friends didn't die. Well, aside from Heavy and Bomb. But Uncle Chuck could always rebuild them along with Tails. Sonic laughed. "See, nothing's wrong. Cream is just too young to fight and the two bots could just be rebuilt!" Tails looked at his brother with a _are you sure?_ look. "Well, Heavy and Bomb were destroyed and Team Freedom also disbanded. That's bad enough for me", the fox kit replied. "Oh would you stop your chit-chat already?" Amy said. Sonic then looked at Rosie.

"Hey, what about Naugus? Is he still here?" he asked. Rosie nodded. "Of course, that was stupid", Sonic said. "But he is currently ill, according to Geoffrey. So with Naugus being sick, Geoffrey ruling the kingdom for him", Rosie replied. Sonic pounded his fists. "Cool, so it will be much easier for us now! All we gotta do is kick Stinky St. Jerk's butt and we win!" Rosie sighed. "It... won't be that simple. Geoffrey has magic powers like his master and is more than a match for you. He even took on Team Freedom and defeated them. In fact, he was the one who destroyed Heavy and Bomb and nearly killed Cream", she said. Amy covered her mouth with her hands and Sonic and Tails looked at each other in horror. If Geoffrey had taken on and defeated Team Freedom all by himself, even as going as far as destroying two of their team members, then he was definitly not someone to mess with.

"Oookay, maybe we shouldn't go that far", he said. "Y'know what? Let's go see how Antoine is doing", Sonic said instead. Rosie smiled. "Yes, he is getting better really quickly also. In fact, this morning Dr. Quack made an announcement saying within a few days, he might even wake up!" Sonic, Tails and Amy were overjoyed. "He's gonna wake up? About time!" Sonic said. "Finally, our friend is going to return!" Tails said. "Ohmygosh! Antoine is finally coming back!" Rosie laughed at their excitement. "Well, c'mon! Let's go pay him a visit!" And with that, they left for Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital to visit their once fallen friend.

 _ **Downunda**_

The thriving city in the crater was blooming with people. Homes were advanced, and the population was so high. In the tallest building, a group of people sat at a table briefing over plans. These were the Downunda Freedom Fighters. They consisted of Walt Wallabee, a kangaroo with a short temper. Then there was Barby Koala, the only female and most intelligent of the team. Wombat-Stu, field combatant. Guru Emu, the only peace keeper of the team and the most odd. And last but not least, Bill Platypus, the team's expert demolitionist and field combatant like Wombat-Stu. Bill also was part of the Dark Egg Legion, before he left when Eggman had supposedly died. They were going over plans to attack the Egg Army base stationed outside Downunda in the Second Colony.

"Okay, so let's go over this again", Walt said. The others groaned. They had done this for hours. "Dude, just chill and let's take a break", Bill said. "Walt, we know what we're gonna do", Barby said. Guru had fallen asleep and Stu was on a phone playing a game. "What? You sure?" the kangaroo said. Bill and Barby nodded. Despite being tough and smart, Walt was extremely gullible. Suddenly, a ring portal opened up in the middle of the room, suprising everyone. Guru woke up with a gasp and shouted, "THE SPIRITS ARE COMING! WE MUST HONOR THEM!" he then proceeded to do a rain dance, but Stu just threw a book at the goose. "Cut it out already!" he said. Out of the portal came Knuckles the Echidna, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. The Downunda Freedom Fighters immediately saluted the trio, as they had high respect for the Chaotix.

"Welcome, Knuckles! To what service may we be of use for you?" Walt asked. Knuckles smiled and held up his hands. "Guys, no need for the hospitality. I just came for answers", he said. Barby walked up. "What answers? You can ask us anything and we'll hapilly answer", she said. Mighty cleared his throat. "Well, recently Julie-Su and Saffron Bee were ambushed and trapped somewhere in an unknown location", he said. "Oh damn, I'm sorry. What can we do to help?" Bill asked concerned. Knuckles then spoke up. "Yes, well you just have to give us some answers. Anyway the one responsible for that was one of your own... Thrash", he said bitterly. The Downunda fighters gasped. They had never thought Thrash would commit such a crime. "W-what are you saying?" Barby asked, suprised. "Yeah, why would Thrash do that? He's always been pure at heart!" Stu asked. "Well, apparently Thrash had a grudge against Knuckles' species. He is the last of his species, being Mobian Devil. And the rest are now Devil Dogs. This was the work of Knuckles' ancestors and Thrash has been wanting revenge", Mighty said. "Yeah, so w-we thought we could come here for answers and c-clues since he was one of you before", Ray said. Walt stroked his chin. "I mean, I don't know what to say. Thrash was always the noble one and he'd pick us up if we fell. This is so unlikely of him". Knuckles then took out the blueprints. "What's this?" he asked. Bill took it and as he read it, his eyes ent wide.

"H-how in the world...?" he exclaimed. "Th-these are blueprints for that unlimited power warp ring I was working on during my time with the Dark Egg Legion", he said. "After I left, I decided this was too dangerous and threw it away, thus abandoning my work. How in the world did Thrash get these?" he said. Barby then remembered. "Unless, he stole them before you got rid of them. He might've replaced the original ones with the fake!" she exclaimed. "Nonsense, how could that have happened? We all know how smart Bill is and he wouldn't leave something important like this in the open", Walt said. "Well, considering how smart Thrash is, what if he stole them when we were least expecting it?" Knuckles said. "Unless... when we were fighting against the Dark Egg Legion! When we were captured and Bill let us go, he might've snagged them and replaced them!" the echidna said. "No wonder he left right after!" Bill exclaimed. "Well, we gotta destroy this now since we have it" Mighty said. "Oh right", Bill said before taking out a laser gun and completly vaporizing the blueprints completly. "So any clue as to where we can find him?" Knuckles asked. Walt shook his head. "As much as we trusted each other, we knew almost nothing about the guy. He only told us little about himself", the kangaroo exclaimed. "Damnit! So we're back to square one!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Not neccessarily", Guru said. Everyone looked at him in surprised. "Remember? Thrash always used to say that his favorite place to relax and spend time was at Sunset Hill. Maybe you guys could try looking there", the goose said. "That makes sense", Mighty said before looking at Knuckles. The echidna nodded. "Right! So we'll see if he's there. Thanks for everything you guys!" Knuckles said as he threw the warp ring opening it. "No problem, rad red! Anything for the people who helped liberate us!" Walt exclaimed. The Downunda Freedom Fighters waved goodbye as Knuckles, Mighty and Ray walked through the warp ring and set off for Sunset Hill to find Thrash and finally settle this once and for all.

 _TO BE CONTINUED_

 ***Author's Note: Well here we are, starting off on a brand new arc. Finally we get some new characters and Knuckles begins his own road to recovery. Will he find Thrash and finally be reunited with his lost friends or will they never be found? And what troubles lie in New Mobotropolis? Find out in the next chapter!**

 **EPIC out!**


	6. Chapter 5: Knuckles' Quest Part 2

**Lost Hedgehog Tales**

 _CHAPTER 5: KNUCKLES' QUEST PART 2_

 _ **Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital, New Mobotropolis**_

Thunder boomed in the sky as rain was pouring down on the kingdom of New Mobotropolis. Team Fighters had returned from their mission in Holoska and now they were going to see their friend and former freedom fighter Antoine D'Coolette, who was in a coma after saving Elias Acorn from Metal Sonic. They were walking to Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital with Rosie Woodchuck, who was the caretaker. They reached the entrance and Amy sighed.

"Finally, I can't stand being wet", she said drying off her hair. Sonic shook himself dry too. "Ugh, yea. Water's definitly not my shtick", he said. Rosie led them to the room Antoine was in. It was very big and spacious. The bed was huge, being a queen sized and there was a flat screen TV on the side wall. There were food carts with multiple dishes of food. The window was wide open as well, which was strange considering the fact that it was raining outside. They looked around. Their coyote friend was nowhere to be seen. "Um, where's Antoine?" Tails asked. Sonic, Tails and Amy turned to Rosie hoping to know where he was. But Rosie was confused herself.

"Huh? He was here this morning. Did Dr. Quack move him to another room?" Sonic scratched his head. "Maybe. Since Ant's getting better I guess he had him moved to another room and save this room for another person", he said. "Let's go ask at the front". The four Mobians walked back to the lobby and were just about to walk up the front desk and ask the lady when they heard a voice behind them.

"Sonic! Tails! Amy!", the voice yelled. They turned to find Dr. Quack running up to them. The duck was out of breath, as he stood in front and tried to catch his breath. Amy frowned. Something definitly wasn't right. The doctor looked like he had just seen a ghost. "What's wrong Dr. Quack?" she asked. "Yeah doc, why do you look scared?" Sonic asked. Dr. Quack looked at the heroes in a worried way. "It's Antoine! He ran away!" he yelled. "WHAT?!" the three fighters yelled. Tails walked up to the doctor and put both hands on the duck's shoulders. "What do you mean ran away? How and why?" Tails asked. Dr. Quack took a breath. "Well, he woke up this morning and he was fine. He remembered everything that had happened, with Bunnie getting deroboticized and he getting in a coma. We talked and everything and then he asked where Bunnie was. When I told him she ran away, he didn't say anything but jumped out the window and ran away. He said something about finding her and making everything right. I didn't know this would happen. I'm sorry", Quack said as he broke down into tears. Everyone was shocked. Antoine had woken up finally only to run away? Tails helped Quack up.

"It's okay, doctor. You didn't know he would react like this", the fox said. "Yeah doc, its cool. I've done the same thing before, except in a different way", Sonic said. Amy put a hand on Quack's back. "Don't worry. You did your job and look. Antoine's okay", she said. Rosie then looked out the window. "Well, you guys haven't heard the full story of what's been going on here since you guys were gone so might as well explain", she said. "Let's go to my house. Quack, you can come too", she said. The others followed. Lightning flashed as the downpour continued.

 _ **Sunset Hill Zone**_

Sunset Hill. The place where the sun always looked like it was setting. It's beauty never ceased to surprise anyone and the sight was just so fresh. This had also become one of Mobius' finest tourist attractions. Animals roamed freely and the environment was just so friendly. All that was about to change as a ring portal opened up and out stepped Knuckles the Echidna, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. The trio had come here after finding out Thrash would hang out here everytime. They had gotten information from Downunda, stating that Thrash had blueprints for an unlimited charged warp ring. They didn't know if he had accomplished that goal, but just on the safe side, they destroyed the blueprints. Knuckles took a deep breath and sighed immediately feeling relaxed.

"This place sure is peaceful. I gotta come here sometime to take a break", Knuckles said. Mighty chuckled. "Yep, this is why we say to take a break from guarding the Master Emerald and experience things like this", the armadillo said as he stretched out. Knuckles then looked at Mighty with a frown. "Yea, but the last time I left the island, I had lost two of my friends and my father. At least we know that we can still save Julie-Su and Saffron, but dad is gone". The echidna then looked up at the sky, thinking that his father could see him now and what he thought. Mighty and Ray looked at each other. They _hated_ seeing Knuckles like this. Before, he used to challenge Mighty to an arm wrestling contest everyday and it would end with the same: a tie. The echidna would even take Ray to explore some on Angel Island's landmarks. Heck, the entire Chaotix used to throw parties and go exploring when Locke would be guarding the Master Emerald. But, all that was gone now. The echidna was now the silent, depressed loner who preferred to be by himself. Knuckles looked around.

"So... where do we start looking?" he said. Ray then looked off in the distance and saw something. "Over there! What's t-that?" he said pointing. Mighty and Knuckles looked and saw that thing also. "Come on, we'll start over there", Knuckles said before leaping off and gliding to a platform. Mighty and Ray followed, with Ray flying and holding Mighty. They all landed on the ground and started running towards the direction Ray pointed to. As they got closer, they could make out a small cottage. It was on top of a hill. Knuckles jumped and grabbed the wall with his spikes and started climbing. Mighty did the same, but with his bare hands. Ray just flew up beside them. Once they got to the top, they looked at the cottage. It was small, for one person. Knuckles knocked on the door. He waited for about half a minute before knocking again. No answer.

"Huh. Nobody's home", Mighty said. Knuckles held up a hand. "Hold on". And with that, he slowly turned the knob and the door opened. They looked at each other before walking inside. It was really small inside. There was only one room with a couch that looked badly chewed up and a TV that was about a hundred years old. There was a fridge along with a mini kitchen. The bathroom had a box and a toliet. The shower was a little tub with water. Ray sniffed. There was a foul smell in the house. It was horrible. He looked behind the couch and found about a dozen pizza boxes open and half eaten. Food was everywhere. Mighty made a disgusted face. "Blleggh, this place reeks! Who would live here?" the armadillo said. Knuckles looked around. "This place looks like someone still lives here", he said. Ray shuddered. "This place is c-creepy". Mighty picked up a plastic cup that was ripped apart and had drool all over it. "Ugh, yeah well whoever lives here seriously needs to learn some manners. This place is an ugly mess", he said before tossing the cup away.

"Who're you to judge, _mate_?" said a voice behind them. Everyone froze. Knuckles knew that voice too well and the three turned around. There was a Mobian Devil standing behind them with his arms crossed. He was purple colored with green gloves and green boots. He had a sharp fractured crest across the upper middle. There were two other Devil Dogs beside them. "Thrash", Knuckles said bitterly. The devil chuckled. "Sup, Knuckie?" he said, grinning. "Didn't think you'd find me here". Knuckles glared at Thrash. "We had help from your former comrades in Downunda". Thrash just shrugged. "Eh, figures". He then pet both the Devil Dogs and they ran off into their beds. Knuckles cleared his throat.

"Give me the warp ring and let the girls go along with everyone else you imprisoned". "Yeah, so if you don't want to have any broken bones, I suggest you listen to Knux", Mighty said. "Yeah!" Ray exclaimed. Thrash didn't seem the slightest intimidated. He knew how strong the Chaotix were, but he could take them on. He had fought Knuckles AND Team Fighters to a stand still. _These guys will be nothing._ Thrash then cracked his knuckles and snorted. "Me, end up with broken bones? Nah, mate. You shouldn't make promises you can't keep", he said. Knuckles was enraged. This guy imprisons all the echidnas and when they ask him nicely, the attitude he gives! "That's it!" Knuckles yelled before charging at Thrash and tackling him out the door. Mighty and Ray ran after them. The echidna and devil were wrestling on the grass, trying to overpower the other. It seemed that Knuckles was winning since he was on the top. He held Thrash's fur with one hand and raised the other balling it into a fist.

"GIVE ME THE WARP RING THRASH! STOP MAKING THIS HARD ON YOURSELF!" Knuckles shouted. Thrash just punched Knuckles off him and kicked the echidna away. "Fat chance, mate! Your kind did this to my kind! As a punishment, this is what you get! We're even anyways, I'm the last of my kind and your the last of your kind!" Thrash yelled before punching Knuckles in the face. "Alright that's enought!" Mighty yelled as he slammed into Thrash, knocking him down. Mighty then grabbed him and threw him across the field. Thrash just got back up and charged at Mighty. Mighty blocked Thrash's punch and countered with his own punch followed by a kick to the side. Thrash fell down on one knee and Mighty was about the punch the living daylight out of Thrash when the devil let out a sonic scream that blasted Mighty away. Thrash then picked himself up and ran towards the armadillo, but was halted by Ray who kicked him in the face. Thrash just punched Ray away, and dodged Knuckles' punch, grabbed him and flipped the echidna on his back. Thrash then began punching Knuckles repeatedly before he was kicked off by Ray. Thrash tried to attack Ray again, but the squirrel was too fast for him. Ray flew behind Thrash and gave the devil and solid kick to the back making the devil fall face front on the ground. Grumbling to himself, Thrash picked himself up and blasted Ray with a sonic scream. Knuckles then charged at Thrash and punched him across the face. He then gave the devil a hard uppercut that sent nearly sent Thrash flying off the hill. Thrash then blasted Knuckles with a sonic scream and threw him into Ray. He failed to notice Mighty rip a tree off the ground and smacked Thrash into the cottage. The devil dogs ran out in fear as the whole cottage came crumbling down. Thrash picked himself up and glowered at Mighty.

"Alright, now you've made me mad!" He then blasted Mighty with a more powerful sonic scream, sending the armadillo skidding across the ground on his side. Thrash then grabbed Mighty and slammed him into a rock. He then threw Mighty into the rubble of the cottage. Before Thrash could continue, he was knocked backwards by Knuckles. "I'm not letting you hurt any more of my friends", Knuckles said before punching Thrash and knocking him down. He then grabbed Thrash and threw him into a tree. Thrash just charged at Knuckles and the two ended up in a brawl with punches and kicks. Both were shouting curses at each other. Suddenly Thrash nailed Knuckles in the gut and blasted him away with a sonic scream. Mighty and Ray charged towards Thrash but Thrash just grabbed them both and bashed their heads together. He then kicked Mighty and grabbed him by the neck before chucking him off the hill.

"MIGHTY!" Ray yelled before he was pinned to the ground. Thrash sneered. "See? I'm more than a match for you. You stand no chance, so just surrender and I'll let you leave alive". "NEVER!" Knuckles yelled before punching Thrash. The devil stumbled and Knuckles rushed at him. He landed a blow to Thrash's stomach, then punched him with the spiky end of his fist. He then kicked Thrash on the side and sweeped his legs, knocking Thrash down. Knuckles then grabbed Thrash by the legs and spun him around in a circle. "HHRRAAAUUUGGGH!" Knuckles yelled. He then let go and Thrash was sent hurtling into the cottage. The rubble exploded upon impact and pieces went flying everywhere. Knuckles panted heavily. Thrash slowly got out of the rubble and wobbled to Knuckles. Despite the injuries, the devil could still stand and looked like he could still put up a good fight. _Enough is enough._ Knuckles then charged at Thrash and gave him a solid uppercut that sent the devil flying off the hill and landed in a pond. Ray looked at Knuckles.

"Is... is he..?" Ray wondered, not sure what happened to Thrash. Knuckles shook his head. "No, he's still up! Thrash won't go down that easily!" "YER DAMN RIGHT I WON'T!" Thrash yelled before climbing out the pond and taking off in the opposite direction. "No! Come one, we can't let him escape!" Knuckles yelled before he and Ray leapt off and chased Thrash. _I can't let him escape this time. I'm so close!_

 _ **Rosie's House, New Mobotropolis**_

It was still raining in New Mobotropolis. The downpour had increased and it was raining hard. Rosie sighed as she lit a candle and placed it on the table. Due to the lightning, the power had been cut. The gang was now at Rosie's house, since she was going to explain everything that had happened in the week while Team Fighters were gone. She, along with Dr. Quack folded their hands together and looked at Team Fighters. Sonic cleared his throat.

"Okay, so now care to explain what happened?". Rosie nodded. "Yes. I'll start with how Team Freedom had disbanded. The reason is they had taken on a powerful foe and had barely beaten it. That foe was the _Tails Doll._ Tails and Amy gasped. Sonic just shrugged. "Eh, thing was creepy, so I expected that to happen". Tails shook his head. "I thought it was a harmless doll, made by some fan company or something". Amy then spoke. "Cream had that doll, didn't she?". Dr. Quack nodded.

"People were getting suspicious of the thing since it always appeared someplace random. Cream had told Rotor and his team made a plan to dupe the Tails Doll and they followed it. Once they encountered it however, it went beserk and transformed into a hideous monster", he said. "But thanks to Team Freedom's efforts, the doll was destroyed. It however, crippled the team. They were weak from fighting it and right after that, Geoffrey attacked them", Rosie said. Sonic grew frustrated. "What? Why does that skunk have a problem with everything we do?" he said.

"Apparently, he saw this as an act of treason. Team Freedom was given specific orders from the council to immobilize the doll and use it against Eggman. But Team Freedom destroyed the creepy thing and Geoffrey got mad and fought them", Rosie said as she passed cups of tea to everyone. "And he put up a damn well fight, I tell ya. He destroyed Heavy and Bomb with his crossbow and nearly burned Cream alive with his Fire Magic. That skunk's dangerous as he is", Dr. Quack added as he sipped some tea. "But when did he get this powerful?" Amy asked. "He was only able to Shadow Meld and use Wind Magic before". "And what about Naugus? Whatever happened to him?" Tails added. "Well Geoffrey had explained in the council's meeting that Naugus had given him some more ixis powers since he was sick and wouldn't have the energy to lead. He told Geoffrey to watch the city while he was gone into hiding until he got better. And how Naugus got ill, nobody knows anything except..." she trailed off. Team Fighters looked at her.

"Except?" Sonic asked. Rosie then looked at Quack in worry, but the duck nodded. "They need to know", he said. Rosie then gulped and looked at the heroes. "Except that there was another group of people that rallied against Naugus. They took him and Geoffrey on at the same time and defeated them. Naugus was planning something and everyone knows that now but Geoffrey is dictating this kingdom so no one can do anything about. All we know is, whatever Naugus was planning was stopped by these mysteerious people that night and that dreaded wizard was left weak since he had used so much power. Funny thing is, those people disapeared after and haven't shown their face yet", she finished and took a deep breath. Sonic, Tails and Amy looked at each other in shock. Whoever these people were they meant business. To take on Naugus when he is at alot of power and defeat him and his little right hand man, they must be really powerful.

"It can't be Team Freedom since they aren't that powerful", Tails said. "And we were away, so who could it be?" Sonic shook his head. "I dunno. All I hope is that these guys are on the same side as us. I wouldn't wanna fight them". Amy then saw Dr. Quack holding something. "Hey, what is that?" she asked. Dr. Quack took the thing out and placed it on the table. "This is all that the authorities found during the investigation. It appears that these people had left this in the pit" he said. "How do you know it was from those guys?" Sonic asked. "Look at the name." Quack said. They looked at the coin. "SFF?" Tails asked. "Yes, this is the name of their group. It was found lying next to the alter in the pit." Sonic put a finger on his chin. "Well, these guys sound good. Hopefully like I said, they're on our side". Suddenly, there was a crash outside. Everyone jumped. "Man, that's some thunder!" Amy said. Tails suddenly knew what that was. "That's no thunder! It's the sound of an explosion! Come on!" he said as he ran out the door and everyone followed him. As soon as they reached the sight, they gasped. Lying in a crater was the Tornado in pieces. It was on fire and smoke was dangerously rising up. Tails was heartbroken.

"The Tornado... who would d-do this?" he said. " _I_ would, as a matter of fact", said a voice behind them. Standing there with his arms crossed was Geoffrey St. John. Sonic shook with rage. As if he hadn't hated this guy already, he decides it would be funny to break Tails' contraptions. "YOU ASSHOLE! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" Sonic yelled before charging at Geoffrey, who just got in a battle stance. He then sidestepped Sonic, who was about to boost into him. Sonic skidded to a stop and tried to punch Geoffrey but the skunk just dodged it. He then kicked Sonic in side, causing the blue hedgehog to fall down. Sonic just got up and punched Geoffrey in the face before dropkicking the skunk down. Sonic then tried to stomp Geoffrey, but he rolled out the way and stuck his legs out causing Sonic to stumble. Geoffrey then grabbed Sonic and kneed him. He then elbowed him in the head and face and roundhouse kicked Sonic a far distance. Geoffrey smirked.

"Face it, mate. I'm stronger than you now with my enhanced powers. You blokes can't stop me". "We'll see about that!" Amy yelled before smacking Geoffrey with her hammer. The skunk stumbled, trying to regain his balance, but Amy walloped Geoffrey with her hammer in the face and then the side. The skunk fell down hard. Before he could get back up, he was spindashed by Sonic and kicked aside. Geoffrey slowly stood up and shook himself. "Well, you blokes certainly are more of a challenge then Team Freedom. But your victory won't last long", he said before stretching his arm out which was crackling with electricity. Sonic and Amy just glared at the skunk. "We'll see about that!" Sonic yelled before he and Amy charged at Geoffrey.

 _ **Sunset Hill**_

Thrash jumped from a ledge to a platform and landed on his feet. He then turned around and blasted some huge trees with a sonic scream and sent them crashing down blocking his pursuers before turning around and running. Suddenly, Knuckles smashed through the blockade and he and Ray chased after their fleeing opponent. "GET BACK HERE!" Knuckles yelled. Thrash didn't say anything, but jumped to another platform and stomped it hard before leaping off. The platform gave away and collapsed, but Knuckles just punched his way through. The devil was pretty fast and Knuckles was far off from catching him. _Damn it, you'd think all the times I'd raced Sonic would've helped by now,_ Knuckles though before speeding up. Ray flew beside him. Thrash was just about to jump again, but was tackled from the side by Mighty. The armadillo had recovered from the flight off the hill and he rolled around with Thrash throwing punches and kicks. Thrash pinned Mighty to the ground, but the armadillo just headbutted the devil off. Thrash clutched his head in pain before he was knocked backwards by a punch. Mighty charged at Thrash and tackled him, but Thrash threw Mighty off and kicked him. He then blasted Mighty with a sonic scream that sent the armadillo off his feet and into a bush. But he just leapt out a second later and dropkicked Thrash. Knuckles and Ray arrived and Ray was relieved that his big brother was okay. The two ran to help Mighty. Knuckles smashed his fist into Thrash's face sending the devil flying across the field. The trio then charged at Thrash, but he just blasted them with an overpowered sonic scream. Mighty and Ray were swept off their feet and sent careening back, screaming. Knuckles just grabbed the ground with his spikes and slowly made his way through Thrash, fighting the sonic scream. Thrash saw Knuckles was coming and put more power into his scream. Knuckles was nearly swept off his feet, but stuck to the ground and inched closer. Once he was close enough, Knuckles lunged forward and punched Thrash in the face. The devil stumbled and Knuckles then uppercut him. Thrash fell down on his back and groaned in pain.

"Damn, you are one tough son of a gun", he said. Knuckles just put a foot on Thrash's chest. "Good to know. Now, I'm gonna ask you _one_ last time to give me the warp ring and let my kind come back, or else", Knuckles snarled holding up his spiked fist. Thrash didn't seem fazed at all and he just grinned. "Never, mate". He then blasted Knuckles off with a sonic scream and slammed on the ground with both hands. He then pinned Knuckles down and glared at the echidna. "Y'wanna know where I sent your kind? Fine! I imprisoned them in the Twilight Cage!" he yelled in the echidna's face. Knuckles was shocked. "The T-Twilight Cage?" he asked. "Yes! And now you're gonna join them!" Thrash hissed before tossing a warp ring and opening up a ring portal to the dimension. He then threw Knuckles in the ring but the echidna just grabbed Thrash's fur and took the devil with him. Both screamed as they fell in the ring. Mighty gasped. "Knuckles!" he shouted before taking off after his friend. "Mighty!" Ray yelled as he flew after Mighty and into the warp ring...

 _TO BE CONTINUED_

 ***Author's note: Well that's surprising. Thrash has sent all the echidnas to the Twilight Cage? And just what is going on at New Mobotropolis? Join us next time as Team Fighters face off against Geoffrey St. John and Knuckles and his team journey through the nightmarish Twilight Cage!**

 **EPIC Out!**


	7. Chapter 6: Knuckles' Quest Part 3

**Lost Hedgehog Tales**

 _CHAPTER 6: KNUCKLES' QUEST PART 3_

Lightning flashed in the sky and rain pour down harder as Sonic dodged an arrow, just barely scratching his shoulder. Geoffrey charged at Sonic and attempted to tackle him, but was halted when Amy smacked him on the side, sending the skunk off his feet and onto his side. Spitting out blood, Geoffrey shot a dart at Amy, who just swung her hammer. However, that dart exploded sending Amy flying. Sonic charged at Geoffrey ready to sock the skunk in the face. However, the skunk sidestepped him and shot the hedgehog in the back. Sonic suddenly had volts of electricity shooting up his body and he screamed. Geoffrey smirked.

"Again, the same kind of back shot? Wow, you must really be stupid", he said as he shot another electric dart at Amy who had recovered and was running towards Geofrrey. The pink hedgehog was also jolted. Sonic then glared at Geoffrey. "Alright, enough is enough!" he said spindashing into Geoffrey. "Ooof!" the skunk said as he fell on his back. Sonic then grabbed Geoffrey, threw him in the hair and homing attacked him. Geoffrey fell hard on his back and grimaced. He then noticed Sonic was still homing attacking him. Quickly, he used his wind magic and shot a little tornado out of his palm and hit Sonic. The hedgehog was spinning mad in every direction as he rocketed back in the other direction. Just before he hit the ground, Geoffrey shadow melded behind him and grabbed him. He then slammed Sonic on the ground repeatedly and threw him away. Sonic got up and wiped his face. There was dirt and blood on his face. Geoffrey then aimed another dart at Sonic and fired but the hedgehog dodged it. Goeffrey continued to fire several arrows and Sonic continued to dodge until he was hit by one and got shocked with electricity. Amy then came to Sonic's rescue by walloping Geoffrey on the head. She then struck Geoffrey in the gut making the skunk wheeze and slammed the hammer on the skunk's head. Geoffrey was now on his back, feeling dizzy. Amy raised the hammer and prepared to smash Geoffrey out cold, but he grabbed it and let out spark of fire. Amy shrieked and dropped the hammer, clutching her hand. Geoffrey grabbed the hammer and grinned at Amy, who backed away slowly.

"H-hey Geoffrey.Y-you want to give my hammer back, um?" she asked completly defenseless now. Geoffrey glared at Amy. "You think this is a joke? Treason will not be tolerated and as ruler of this kingdom for now, I shall have you blokes locked up!" he said. He then prepared to smack Amy with her own hammer. Amy shielded her face with both hands not wanting to see. But Geoffrey was kicked from behind before he could wallop Amy and fell facefront to the ground. Tails stood glaring at Geoffrey, and boy he was _pissed_. "I'll teach you not to mess with other people's work like that", he snarled before lunging at Geoffrey and tackling him. Amy looked in shock as both boys rolled around in the grass trying to overcome the other. She hadn't seen Tails this mad since he and Sonic last got into a fight. She then looked at Sonic who was also watching the fight except he was cheering for Tails.

"Woohoo! You show 'em little buddy! Make stinky wish he had never been born!" Sonic said. Tails and Geoffrey were shouting curses and throwing punches at each other angrily. Geoffrey then kicked Tails off him, but the fox skidded on his feet before rocketing back to Geoffrey with his namesakes and letting the skunk have it in the face. Geoffrey flew back and skidded on the ground. He stood up and dodged a flying kick and elbowed the child in the back. Tails just tailswiped Geoffrey back on the ground before grabbing him and tossing him to Sonic who just spinkicked the skunk away. Geoffrey slowly got up, pain racing throughout his body. He took it back. These guys were really tough. It was time to step up his game. Crackling with lightning, Geoffrey shot a bolt of electricity at Tails before shadow melding and kicking the fox in the back. He then blasted Sonic with a fireball and dropkicked the hedgehog down. Amy then came and tried to smash her hammer on the back of Geoffrey's head, but the skunk sidestepped it and she hit Sonic instead.

"Yoww!" Sonic yelled clutching his nose. Amy's eyes widened. "Sorry Sonic!" she said quickly. Geoffrey then kicked Amy away and sweeped Sonic's legs, knocking him down. Geoffrey grabbed Sonic and headbutt him and punched him in the face with a fiery fist. Sonic cried out in pain as the flaming fist had left a burn mark. Tails slammed into Geoffrey with his shoulder and tailswiped the skunk repeatedly until he was on the ground gasping for breath. Tails sneered at his foe. "Any regrets?" he said. Geoffrey uppercut Tails and slammed him back down.

"Not at all!" Geoffrey said as he kicked Tails. He then saw that Amy had dropped her hammer and lunged for it. However, Sonic kicked it away before Geoffrey could grab it. The hedgehog then grabbed the skunk and kneed him in the gut before shoving him away. Geoffrey backflipped away and shot a beam of ice at Sonic's feet, immobilizing him. Sonic struggled to move his feet but couldn't since they were frozen. Geoffrey chuckled. "Well well well, look at the predicament we have here. It's time to end this", he said before holding up his hand and squeezing it into a fist. Sonic felt the ground shaking and soon it broke apart. "Ahhnooo!" Sonic yelled before falling in the ground. Geoffrey then raised his hand in the sky and soon a huge pillar shot out of the hole Geoffrey made with Sonic on top. The hedgehog was holding on for dear life as the pillar rose up all the way in the sky. Amy and Tails saw what Geoffrey was doing and rushed to him, but the skunk raised his other hand and a wall rose up from the ground blocking Tails and Amy. Amy desperately tried to smash through the wall, but no avail.

"We've got to help Sonic!" she said. Tails thought for a few seconds and snapped his fingers. He turned around. "T-Pup! Here boy!" he said as his robotic helper landed next to Tails and barked. "Arm Cannon, now!" he said grinning. T-Pup happily opened up his back slot and out popped a red arm cannon which Tails took and blasted the wall apart. "Nice shot!" Amy said. "I know" Tails said smiling before he and Amy ran to find Geoffrey grinning at the sky. Sonic looked down from the pillar nervously. That was a long drop. Normally he would have jumped off and air boosted, homing attacked or used his figure eight move to get to safe ground, but since his feet were still frozen, Sonic could only pray that he lived. Geoffrey then chopped the pillar with a glowing hand and the whole thing crumpled apart. Sonic shrieked as he plummeted down. Tails flew forward and kicked Geoffrey and flew up to catch Sonic. Amy walloped Geoffrey to keep him busy. But the skunk quickly dodged and kicked Amy away and shot a dart to Tails. The dart stuck to Tails like a suction and there was a string attached to it. Geoffrey pulled his arm back which was connected to the string and Tails was slammed to the ground.

"Nonononono!" Sonic screamed. The ground was coming closer and Sonic knew he wasn't going to make it. Shutting his eyes, the hedgehog hoped it wouldn't hurt that much. But instead, he was in the arms of someone else. Sonic looked up.

"Rotor!" Sonic yelled. Tails and Amy looked in that direction and cheered. Geoffrey stared open mouthed. Just how many times was this hedgehog going to cheat death? Rotor smiled. He was wearing a yellow cap with goggles, yellow gloves and yellow boots. The purple walrus set Sonic down. "Yup, I'm here. Dr. Quack and Rosie called me for assistance. When I heard you were back, I was overjoyed and made up my mind. Sides, I have a bone to pick with this guy", Rotor said snarling at Geoffrey. The skunk smiled back.

"Rotor, aren't you bound by the law? You know this is a serious offense", Geoffrey said. Rotor balled his fists. "That was _before_ you broke my team. Now, I'm with Team Fighters". Sonic grinned. "Well, what now stinky? Your being rebelled!" he said smacking his fist into his palm. Geoffrey just got in a fighting stance. "Simple. I'll crush you blokes and have you locked up for decades!" And with that, they charged at each other shouting battle cries.

 _ **Twilight Cage**_

"Ugghh.." Knuckles woke feeling tired. He slowly got up and looked around. There were various domes and buildings around him. Lava was dripping down, dividing the city into two sections. He looked up. There was a huge tower in the shape of... an echidna?! He had hair that stood up straight and had a mask on his mouth. Knuckles looked around. There was Mighty and Ray lying unconcious on the ground along with Thrash the Devil. He growled at Thrash. They had been fighting and had ended up here. Speaking of the devil, he got up, feeling woozy and scratched his head. "Huh, where?" he wondered out loud. Knuckles cleared his throat and spoke.

"Finally awake now?" Thrash looked at Knuckles and growled. "I'm gonna make you pay for dragging me in here with you!" he said lunging for Knuckles. The echidna just moved out of the way. "Yeah, well your gonna pay for trapping my species in this dimension!" Thrash looked around in confusion. "Wait wha-" he was cut off by Knuckles who socked him across the face. Thrash stumbled. He rubbed his cheek in anger. "Why you son of a.." he said before Knuckles tackled Thrash and both fell down punching each other. They rolled around until Thrash punched Knuckles off and slammed both fists on the echidna's head. Knuckles wobbled around after that, but retaliated with an uppercut followed by several lightning fast strikes that Thrash couldn't defend against. After the onslaught, Thrash wobbled trying to keep his balance. He slumped down on his knees.

"Aight mate, you won. But I'm still not gonna free yer kind", he said. Knuckles grit his teeth. This guy was more arrogant than Sonic. "Well, too bad! I'm gonna make you find them or else-" he was cut off by an electrical surge that ran up his body. Knuckles screamed as fell on his side. Thrash looked in confusion before he was zapped as well and the devil was knocked out before he hit the ground. Mighty and Ray were still unconcious and Knuckles couldn't do anything. He couldn't even move. _What's going on? Why can't I move?_ , he thought. Suddenly, five figures appeared before him. They were all in black and grey uniforms and had glowing blue. "We got them. The trespassers are now secure. We are bringing them in now", the leader said. He had wings and a single giant blue eye. Knuckles was slowly starting to black out and he eventually did before the people took him.

Waking up in a locked room, Knuckles looked around. He was hanging off a wall. His arms were cuffed with laser cuffs while his legs and feet were free. He looked around hoping to find his friends, but they weren't there. He looked around. There were neon colors everywhere, on the wall and floor. The ceiling was glass, but was glowing neon green. Suddenly, a door opened up. Three figures came inside. Two were wearing the same uniforms but the one in the middle was different. They had grey, black and pink instead of blue. The leader looked at Knuckles, who frowned. "Guardian of the Master Emerald Knuckles the Echidna", the leader said. "Looks like you poked your head where you shouldn't have". Knuckles glared at them. "Who are you? And why did you capture me? And where are my friends?" he shouted. The leader, who appeared to be a girl due to her voice didn't seem fazed.

"My name is Shade and I am Procurator of the superior race... _The Nocturnus Clan_ " she said coldly. Knuckles' eyes widened. He'd heard about the Nocturnus Clan. Tikal had told him everything about them. The vicious rivals of the Pachamac Clan- his clan. "But I thought the Pachamac Clan had defeated you?" he said. Shade chuckled. "Oh, defeat us they did. They imprisoned us in this hellish dimension for centuries. But it just made us stronger because of the superior technology we have adapted to". Knuckles glared at Shade. "What about my friends and Thrash?" he asked. "Oh that purple tasmanian devil and the other two? Don't worry, they're in the same situation as you", she said. Knuckles sighed with relief. He really did not want his friends to be caught in this mess. "Then, why have you captured me? We come in peace. I was fighting Thrash because he had imprisoned my people here. We just want to find them and bring them back to Mobius", Knuckles said.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. You see, my clan is currently in a war with some unfamiliar echidnas. My guess is that they are yours. They are lead by two commanders, a girl and a boy", she said. Knuckles gasped. "Remington and Lien-Da", he said. Shade then nodded. "Yes, but our two strongest warriors, Charyb and Scylla are keeping them at bay. There also was another echidna, who was with a bee", she said. Knuckles immediatly lit up. "Julie-Su and Saffron!" he exclaimed. He was happy that his love was okay. Even Saffron since she was a friend and the love of Charmy Bee. "Can you let me go? I'll talk some sense into them. I'll get them to stop fighting!" Knuckles said. "No". That was all Shade said. "They're trying to fight us. As a punishment, we will kill them. Be happy that we will let you and your friends go alive _guardian_ ". Knuckles was beyond shocked. "W-what are you saying? You mean you're just going to kill them?!" Knuckles yelled. Shade nodded. "Yes. And we will celebrate our victory. Master Ix has a plan that will wipe out the offending army".

"I WON'T LET YOU!" Knuckles yelled as he strained against the cuffs. The two soldiers held up their weapons, but Shade held up a hand, signalling them to stand down. She walked over to Knuckles and put a hand on his chin. "Well, someone seems to have lost his cool". Knuckles glared at Shade. The procurator smirked under her mask. "Well, I'm off. Master Ix has called for me". She then pointed to the two guards. "Watch out. Don't let him escape", and with that she left the room. Knuckles sighed. He finally knew where all the echidnas were and he couldn't do anything to save them. The laser cuffs held him firmly, not allowing him to move. He slumped down. Looks like it just wasn't meant to be. _No._ Knuckles looked up at the two guards, who were busy talking. _It's not going to end like this. I WILL save Julie-Su and Saffron, along with the other echidnas. Maybe I can also talk sense into the Nocturnus Clan as well. But first I gotta get out of here._ He struggled to move his arms. _Hmm, these cuffs are pretty powerful. I need to blast them open. But how?_ He suddenly looked at the guards and an idea came into his mind.

"Hey, dimwits!" Knuckles said. The two guards looked at Knuckles. "You talking to us?" one of them said. "Who else, the wall?" Knuckles said. The two didn't look too happy. "Keep your mouth shut, guardian. You don't know what we're capable of", the other one said. "What are you gonna do, shoot me?" Knuckles snorted. "Actually, yeah that's what we will do", the guard said holding up his gun. "Do it". The guards were bewildered. "What did you say?" one of them snapped. "I said do it. I'm not afraid", Knuckles sighed. The guards didn't say anything, instead just went back to talking to each other. Knuckles quickly acted. "That's what I thought, you chicken". One of the guards quickly took out his gun and fired at the wall right next to Knuckles. The echidna slightly flinched. _Okay, getting somewhere._ He smirked at the two. "Wow, shooting the wall just to scare me? You're not so tough as I thought you were, _wuss"._ The guard that shot was enraged. "I'll show you!" he yelled and quickly fired a few more shots. They all missed, but one grazed Knuckles' side. He hissed in pain. Once the guard stopped shooting, Knuckles smiled. "Thank you", was all he said. The two guards then saw the cuffs were broken and Knuckles was free. Before any of them could move, Knuckles lunged forward and bashed the their heads together knocking them out cold. Brushing his shoulder, Knuckles looked at the door, before slowly opening it and looking around. No one was there so he crept out slowly and walked down the hallway.

"Wow, talk about creepy", he said. The hallway was rather large and dull unlike the room. He suddenly heard voices coming from the corner. Thinking quickly, the echidna hid behind the wall and listened carefully. There were two people. He peeked behind the wall. One was a Nocturnus soldier, like the two in the other room. The other was a robot. Knuckles immediatly knew it was a Gizoid, since he had read the ancient documents about the rivalry between the two clans. Seeing that their backs were turned, Knuckles slowly sneaked up on them and quickly smashed his fist into the Gizoid's head and slapped the soldier's neck, immediatly knocking him out. Knuckles took his arm out of the Gizoid and let it fall. Looking further down the hallway, he saw various rooms. _I gotta find Mighty and Ray. And maybe Thrash as well._ Walking up to the first room, Knuckles could make out a person, no a jellyfish?

"What the ...?" he muttered, before reading the holographic nameplate. "Voxai". He turned and went up to another door. Looking through the glass door, he saw two different Nocturnus guards, who both had their right arm up, which also had an arm cannon. And the prisoner- Ray! Knuckles tried to open the door, but it was locked. _Guess I have to take the hard way in._ He smashed through the door, making the guards turn around. He quickly punched one and dodged a laser being fired. He threw the guard into the other one and socked them both in the face knocking them out. He then broke Ray's cuffs and the squirrel seemed relieved. "Knuckles, t-there you are!" he exclaimed. Knuckles smiled. "You okay?" Ray nodded. "They didn't do anything just asked questions". Knuckles then nodded. "Julie-Su and Saffron are okay. They along with Lien-Da and Remington and the other echidnas are currently in a war with these guys". Ray's face lit up. "They're okay?!" he asked excited. "Yeah, but not for long. I met the commander of these people and she said her master has a plan to kill our friends and that we will be allowed to go. But I highly doubt that will happen considering that I just broke out". Ray gasped. "Oh no, what do we do?" "Let's find Mighty and Thrash. We need to help the others and stop this 'Ix' guy". And with that said, both ran off to find their friends.

Running down the hallway, Knuckles looked in every door, but didn't find their friends. He did however break every prisoner free. Ray flew beside him, assisting in every way possible. Turning a corner, Knuckles and Ray came face to face with three armed guards, two being Gizoids. The one in the middle was holding a blade. "Stop right there!" he said. Knuckles and Ray just looked at each other and charged towards the three bashing them. Ray kicked a Gizoid down and dodged the soldier. Knuckles smashed one Gizoid and ripped it apart. The Nocturnus soldier lunged towards Knuckles with the blade. "Leech Blade!" he yelled, attempting to slash Knuckles. However, Ray intervened by kicking the soldier down. Knuckles then punched the soldier in the face before grabbing the other Gizoid's fist and hurling him towards the soldier knocking him out. The echidna then smashed the Gizoid apart. "Yeah!" Ray exclaimed as he high fived Knuckles. "Hey!" They both turned around to find five guards approaching them. "Run", was all Knuckles said before he and Ray took off, leaving the guards to chase them down. More rooms approached the two. Knuckles quickly smashed into one and freed a prisoner called "Zoah". He then freed two more before turning to another room and breaking into it. Three Gizoids charged at him inside and he and Ray fought them off, with Knuckles smashing two of their heads together and Ray tossing one into Knuckles' fist. They turned to the prisoner who just looked at them in surprise.

"Well took you mates long enough", Thrash said. Knuckles just growled at Thrash. "Save it. Right now you need to help us find Mighty and escape". Thrash smirked. "And why will I help you? I could just ditch you and use my warp ring to go back home". Knuckles broke Thrash's cuffs. "Because, if you don't we're all gonna die here. They took your warp ring and that's the only way back home". Thrash's eyes widened and he sighed. "Fine, but I'm not doing this to help you. I just want to go back home". Knuckles nodded. "Works for me". "Uh, guys? We got a p-problem!" Ray said as they were soon cornered by the five soldiers. "Put your hands up and come with us!" one of them said. Thrash walked up and put his hands up smiling. "Here ya go, mate", he said before blasting them all out with a sonic scream. The trio then ran out. "The one time that loud shit is actually useful" Knuckles said. Thrash grinned. "Hey its always useful. This bad boy helps alot". They soon came to another room. Busting inside, Knuckles and Thrash took out three more Gizoids before freeing a 'Kron'. "Why're we freeing all these unnecessary people?" Thrash asked. "To buy us some more time by causing a riot", Knuckles said. The echidna soon stopped at another room and looked inside. There were at least two Gizoids and three soldiers, one who had wings and the giant blue eye and the others that were holding grenades. Smashing through the door, Knuckles slammed into the wing eyed soldier and took out a Gizoid. A soldier reacted quickly and punched Knuckles off. Thrash grabbed the soldier and threw him across the room. He blasted a Gizoid apart with a sonic scream. One of the soldiers threw the grenade.

"Stasis Grenade!" he yelled. However he missed and hit the other soldier, who immediatly was knocked out. Thrash punched the soldier who threw the grenade and knocked him out. The winged soldier dodged Knuckles' punch and countered back. He then flew in a spiral and launched an energy beam. "Leech Wave!" he yelled. The attack hit Knuckles and the echidna hit the ground hard. Growling, he stood up and uppercut the soldier and slammed both fists in the soldiers gut, knocking him out. Ray quickly broke Mighty's cuffs and the armadillo freely flexed his muscles. "Well, that's better", he said grinning. "C'mon, we have to get out of here and go help Julie-Su and the others!" Knuckles said. The four then ran off to find the exit. A soldier blocked their way, but Mighty just back handed him. They ran down another hallway, before turning right and smashing their way through five Gizoids and knocking three more winged soldiers out.

"Over there, I see a window!" Thrash yelled as he blasted multiple guards out of the way with his sonic scream. Smashing through the window, the four were now on the roof and jumped from builing to building. Once they were far away, they hid on top of a roof trying to catch their breath. "That was too close" Knuckles said. "Yeah, man that was pretty freaky. I mean, those people all looked the same", Mighty said panting. "They were no ordinary people, Mighty. They are the Nocturnus Clan, rulers of this dimension". Mighty, Ray and Thrash gasped. They had heard about the Nocturnus Clan. They were the dangerous rivals of the Pachamac Clan and ruled with an iron fist. "So what do we do now?" Thrash asked. "Now, we find Julie-Su and the other echidnas and stop the Nocturnus from killing them. And then we're out of here. But we also gotta find that warp ring you lost Thrash". Thrash shook his head. "How'd you know I lost the warp ring?" Knuckles smirked. "The Nocturnus Clan are very smart. Besides, before they knocked us out with that ambush, I saw one of them take it from you". Thrash nodded. "H-hey, look!" Ray said. The others quickly rushed to see. Below them, several soldiers were swarming the streets with their weapons.

"They must be searching for us. It's better if we travel by staying up here and keep our heads low. We gotta find the others fast. C'mon let's go!" Knuckles exclaimed as he along with Mighty, Ray and Thrash took off to find Julie-Su and the other echidnas and set out to stop the Nocturnus from killing them.

 _ **New Mobotropolis**_

"AUGHH!" Geoffrey yelled as he was thrown off the hill and landed on dirt. Shaking his head, he looked up and moved out of the way just in time before Sonic's heel could smash onto his head. "Give it up St. John, you're outnumbered!" Sonic yelled as he spinkicked Geoffrey, sending the skunk flying. Skidding on his feet, Geoffrey shot a fire arrow at Rotor who was charging at him. The arrow hit Rotor and the walrus cried out in pain. Geoffrey dropkicked Rotor, before dodging and uppercutting Tails who had flown from above. Tails went rocketing up in the air, but used his namesakes to launch himself back down at Geoffrey and kicked the skunk in the face brutally. Amy then tried to hit Geoffrey with her hammer, but he just moved out the way. Shooting an electric dart at Tails, he dodged Amy's hammer again and grabbed it before violently swinging it and smashing it into Amy and Rotor. Geoffrey saw Sonic rushing at him and he pulled the hammer back and let Sonic have it in the face. The hedgehog slid across the dirty mud, before standing up and boosting into Geoffrey and homing attacking him in the air repeatedly before air boosting Geoffrey to the ground. Sonic then prepared to power stomp Geoffrey, but the latter just shot a tornado out of his hand blowing Sonic away. Geoffrey then charged at Rotor and kicked the walrus in the face. However, Rotor grabbed Geoffrey's legs and slammed in on the ground repeatedly before tossing him aside and taking out an electric whip. He violently tried to hit Geoffrey with the whip, but the skunk just grabbed it with an electric hand and pulled with such force that Rotor went flying over his head. Tails and Amy then rushed at Geoffrey from both directions, but Geoffrey just ducked and let Tails and Amy smack into each other. Geoffrey split kicked the two and shot a stun dart at Tails, who ducked and uppercut Geoffrey. He then jabbed Geoffrey in the gut and sweeped his legs, taking out the skunk's legs before tail swiping Geoffrey. Tails then took out his arm cannon and blasted Geoffrey with a powerful laser. The skunk went flying in the air and taking this opportunity, Sonic rushed up and kick slammed Geoffrey to the ground. Sonic then curled into a spindash and charged up in one spot before leaping backwards and letting Geoffrey have it with a powerful gust of blue wind. The skunk went tumbling backwards and everyone rushed at him all at once shouting. With lightning fast reflexes, Geoffrey back flipped and threw multiple bombs at everyone. They all exploded, blasting Team Fighters away. He then shot multiple arrows at everyone and hit them all, binding them in a strong rope. Everyone struggled to break free as Geoffrey calmly walked up to them, smirking.

"No fair, let us go!" Sonic yelled. "Yeah, this is cheating!" Amy yelled. Geoffrey chuckled. "Well, too bad. It looks like I win". Tails shook his head. "We're still standing and in good shape to fight Geoffrey. You haven't beaten us yet!" he said. Rotor nodded. "Don't forget, I still have to get payback after you broke my team apart!". Geoffrey laughed. "I don't think so, because you blokes are gonna be locked up in New Mobotropolis Detention Center for chaos knows how long for disobeying a direct order from the council!". Sonic rolled his eyes. "And by council, you mean _yourself_ right? You told us not to come back until we saved Sally, but the council just said to slow Eggman's plan down for a while. And we also got a lead on what his next plan might be". Geoffrey glared at Sonic. "But Naugus is the king and a king's orders are absolute!". "Geoffrey!". The skunk turned around to find Rosie and Dr. Quack running up to him. "They did save the city from the Tails Doll and find out what Eggman's plan is, right? So don't they at least deserve a fair trial?" Rosie said. Rotor smirked. "That's right. It says in chapter 47 of the Mobotropolis Files that every convict deserves a fair trial. And you are listening to the law, aren't you Geoffrey?". The skunk didn't say anything. They knew they got him right there. Geoffrey cleared his throat. "Very well, you are to immediatly come to Castle Acorn for your trial. As king, I want this done right now!". He then turned to walk away. "Um, who's gonna free us and let us walk?" Sonic asked, rolling his eyes. Geoffrey sighed and pushed a button on his glove, freeing Team Fighters from the rope. "Now let's go!" he said before walking off. Sonic turned to Tails.

"You gonna be okay bud?" he asked. Tails turned to him and smiled. "Yeah I'll be fine. I can just rebuild the Tornado. I was just mad because it was that jerk who destroyed it for a stupid reason". Sonic smiled. Dr. Quack turned to Amy. "Hurry up now. The council must be waiting". Amy nodded before pulling the others. "Let's go now, I HATE GETTING MY HAIR WET!"

 _TO BE CONTINUED_

 ***Author's note: Well, it seems that Team Fighters has finally got a new member: Rotor! Let's see how the trial goes. Will the heroes be declared innocent or guilty? And what about Knuckles? Will he and his friends stop the Nocturnus Clan from killing Julie-Su and the remainder of the echidnas or will the unthinkable happen? Join us next time as we wrap up the "Knuckles' Quest" arc!**

 **EPIC Out!**


	8. Chapter 7: Knuckles' Quest Part 4

**Lost Hedgehog Tales**

 _CHAPTER 7: KNUCKLES' QUEST PART 4_

 _ **Nocturne, Twilight Cage**_

Nocturnus forces were storming the streets everywhere. An all out war was going on as Nocturnus warriors battled the echidna forces of Albion and Dark Egg Legion. There was no place to hide as the war was raging on, destroying everything in its way. From above on top of a building, Knuckles the Echidna watched as echidnas battled these fearsome forces. He, along with Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel and Thrash the Devil had been captured by the Nocturnus Clan after they were teleported into Nocturne via warp ring. Luckily, they were able to escape but not before they found out that the ruler of the Nocturnus Clan had a plan to kill their enemies. So the four had set out to find everyone and stop the Nocturnus Clan or they would all die. They had jumped building from building to stay out of sight and had finally made it to the battleground. It was a mess with fiery cannons and brawls and there was alot of bloodshed. Knuckles watched with distaste.

"Well, we found the echidnas. Now we gotta find Lien-Da and Remington", he said. Behind him, the other three watched the war with uneasiness. "Uh Knuckles, that's alot of blood right there. I don't feel to good about this", Mighty said as he gulped when a Nocturnus soldier plunged a Leech Blade through an echidna. "Same mate. I've been in rough fights before, but never this rough", Thrash said. Ray looked at the fighting with nervousness. "K-Knuckles, I don't t-think I-I'm ready for t-this" he said. Knuckles pat Ray's back. "Easy there kid, you're stuttering like your crazy cold. Relax, we're here", he said assuring Ray. Mighty looked in the distance. Near the lava fall, there were four figures duking it out. Mighty immediatly recognized Remington and Lien-Da who both appeared to be helping each other fight two other Gizoids, one being blue and the other being red. He tapped Knuckles on the shoulder.

"There they are, I see them! They're fighting these two robots that look like the ones we encountered while we were escaping!". Knuckles then looked where Mighty pointed and saw the same thing. He nodded. "Right, let's go!" he said preparing to jump off, but Thrash halted him. "Wait, what about this mess?" he asked pointing to the other echidnas fighting the soldiers. Knuckles shook his head. "We fight our way through". And with that, the four leapt off the building and onto the ground below, which was currently swarmed with warriors yelling and screaming. Before he hit the ground, Knuckles spun while holding his fist out and swirled into a fiery tornado before crashing down on the ground, sending various Nocturnus soldiers flying. As soon as the others landed, he took off punching his way through every Nocturnus soldier he encountered. Mighty, Ray and Thrash followed, smashing their way through the massive brawl. Knuckles punched a soldier off an echidna and kicked a gizoid before smashing it. He then noticed a number of Nocturnus warriors had seen him and were charging at him. The red echidna grit his teeth. That was alot of them, but he could still take them on. He charged right at them and threw various punches at them, completly throwing them off him. He then charged right into another group before doing the same thing. But he got cocky when a Nocturnus soldier kicked him from behind and Knuckles went stumbling into five more warriors who started to beat the crap out of him. He tried to move, but couldn't since the mob had grabbed his legs. He raised his arms in the air as they grabbed him and pulled him down.

"Raagghh!" Knuckles cried out before he was pulled to the bottom of the pile. Mighty was busting through warriors and gizoids. Quickly, he jumped on a gizoid's back and leapt up before curling into a ball and slamming down sending them flying. Ray and Thrash were also plowing through like Mighty. Thrash was using his strength and sonic scream to his advantage, while Ray took care of the flying soldiers, kicking each of them down. Mighty grabbed a flying Nocturnus warrior before hurling him into three more grenade warriors. A soldier violently slashed the armadillo across the chest with a Leech Blade causing Mighty to stumble backwards right into the arms of a gizoid. The soldier then started repeatedly punching Mighty while the gizoid held a firm grip on him. The armadillo used his strength to break free of the gizoid's grasp before headbutting the soldier and back handing the robot. He then picked up the gizoid and threw it into a cannon, causing it to explode before running up to another cannon, picking it up and hurling it towards more Nocturnus soldiers. Suddenly, at least two dozens of soldiers went flying in every direction. Knuckles had broken free from the dog pile and was now fiercely plowing through any enemy. He spotted Thrash blasting a dozen soldiers away with his sonic scream. Running up to him, Knuckles shouted. "I guess I was wrong about that! It really does help!" Thrash grinned. "Told ya mate!". He then plowed into a group of gizoids, sending them flying everywhere. Knuckles looked around. He had to get to Lien-Da and Remington. Running up to Thrash, he tapped the devil on the shoulder.

"We got to find Lien-Da and Remington! They'll tell us what to do!" Knuckles yelled. Thrash nodded. "You go mate, I'll cover you!" he said. Thrash then blasted a group of winged flyers out of the way. Knuckles then took off towards the lava. Punching his way through, he spotted the two he was looking for and rushed towards them. Lien-Da and Remigton were having a tough time fighting those two gizoids. Since they were different colored, Knuckles assumed they were some top elites or something. The four were locked in a heavy battle, shouting. Knuckles quickly jumped between them and smashed his two fists into the two gizoids, sending them flying back. He then turned around and looked at the two echidnas, whose eyes were wide with shock.

"Knuckles?" Remington asked. "Guardian? What are you doing here?" Lien-Da questioned. Knuckles shook his head. "No time to explain. We need to get out of here fast before these guys kill you!" he exclaimed. "Um, you're clearly mistaken if you think they're going to kill us. We have this", Lien-Da said. "No, I found out that the Nocturnus leader has a plan to wipe out all of us! We need to find the others and get the warp ring back or else we're all doomed!" Remington and Lien-Da looked at each other in shock. "What? If that's the case, then we have to win this war at all costs!" Remington exclaimed. "I agree. I don't want to die here of all places! My people still need someone to lead them after we left the Dark Egg Legion!" Lien-Da said.

"Well in that case, care to fill me in all the details?" Knuckles asked. "Well, we've been fighting these guys ever since the attack on Albion. Their leader is tough. He and his top commander have been outsmarting us, but we've held our ground. And those two", Remington said pointing to the gizoids who had recovered from Knuckles' assault, "they are the elite soldiers of the army. The blue one is Charyb and the red is Scylla. They have powers of water and fire and are really strong. Their not like the other gizoids. We've been fighting them for so long, but they just won't go down", he said. Knuckles looked at Charyb and Scylla. "Is that so? Well then, leave that to me!" he said walking towards them. "Oh no you don't! Leave them to us, rad red!" Knuckles turned around to see Mighty and Ray running towards him. Remington and Lien-Da looked at them in surprise.

"Mighty, Ray you guys are back?" Remington asked. "Yeah, I found my sister. She's all good", Mighty said smiling. "Well that's good because we could really use the help right now!" Lien-Da exclaimed. "Right", Ray said unsure whether to trust the female echidna or not. Knuckles nodded. "Okay, you guys be careful". Mighty smirked. "Trust me Knux, after training with my master, me and Ray are more than a match", he said before running off with Ray to fight Charyb and Scylla. Knuckles turned to the two echidnas. "Where's Julie-Su and Saffron?" he asked. Lien-Da pointed to the building with the echidna on it. "They both ran to Ix's headquarters". Knuckles nodded. "Alright then", he said. "Wait!" Remington said. "What about us?" he asked. Knuckles pointed to the battlefield. "Go help our people, you two. They need you guys", he said before running off. Remington and Lien-Da looked at each other and nodded before dashing into the war. Mighty and Ray looked at Charyb and Scylla, who were now in a stare down.

"You fools think you can beat us?" Charyb asked. Mighty shook his head. "Not really. We _know_ we can beat you!" he exclaimed cracking his knuckles. Ray nodded. "Yeah! So b-back down!" Scylla burst out laughing. "Oooh! Look at that! The kid is so confident they can win that he can't even speak correctly!" he said. Ray seethed. He had it with people making fun of him like that. "Hey, leave him alone you wuss!" Mighty said. "No it's o-okay Mighty! Let him talk, because karma's g-gonna hit him way faster than h-he thinks!" Ray said balling his fists. "How amusing", Charyb said readying his energy blade. "Let's settle this and then we'll see who karma hits!" he said charging towards Mighty while Scylla went for Ray. Mighty and Ray charged back screaming their battle cries as they clashed.

 _ **Castle Acorn, New Mobotropolis**_

"Order, order!" Geoffrey yelled pounding a gravel. Everyone stopped and looked at him. Team Fighters had been brought to Castle Acorn when Geoffrey had accused them of treason for not rescuing Sally Acorn. Team Fighters stood in front of the council members. Geoffrey sat in the middle of the long curved table. To his right was Sir Charles Hedgehog, Hamlin Pig, Dylan Porcupine and to his left were Rosemary Prower, Isabella Mongoose and Penelope Platypus. Charles or 'Chuck' as many people liked to call him was, along with Rosemary, overjoyed their kids were back. Chuck was Sonic's uncle and Rosemary was the mother of Tails. Isabella was new to the council and had taken Rotor's place when he resigned. She was also the mother of Mina Mongoose. Dylan, Hamlin and Penelope used to be part of the Substitute Freedom Fighters and were led by their friend Larry Lynx who had dissapeared. The three had become council members than, retired from fighting. Geoffrey himself was the former leader of the Rebel Underground and King Max's Secret Service before he officially turned traitor to the Freedom Fighters and was now working for Ixis Naugus. He looked down at Team Fighters and spoke.

"As you all know, recently Princess Sally Acorn had been roboticized while trying to stop the World Roboticizer. She succeeded, but is now Eggman's mindless servant. She has been causing alot of trouble for us lately and not only that, but Elias Acorn dissapeared shortly after these events", Geoffrey said. Tails frowned when Geoffrey mentioned Elias. "Anyway, we had ordered Team Fighters to go on a mission to the Death Egg and not come back _until_ Sally was saved. However, these blokes come back without her and nearly destroyed the princess!" Geoffrey exclaimed.

"Okay, so?" Hamlin asked. Geoffrey looked at Hamlin. "So?! They disobeyed a direct order from the council and disobeying the council is seen as an act of treason!" Geoffrey exclaimed. "With all due respect sir, Team Fighters did manage to get ahold of what might be Eggman's next plan", Chuck said. Geoffrey shook his head. "That has nothing to do with this! Team Fighters were especially tasked with bringing Sally back with them! They disobeyed the order!" he exclaimed. "And by council, you mean you had given them a direct order. The rest of us didn't push the team that far", Rosemary calmly said. Tails smirked. Leave it to his mom to get Geoffrey right there.

"Erm, she's right you know", Dylan said. "We had said to go and try to save Sally and if things were rough, then they could come back". Geoffrey banged his fist on the table. "They disobeyed the council's order! Now because of them, Eggman will build some more upgrades on Mecha Sally and it may be impossible to save her and stop Eggman!" Geoffrey yelled. "No, since they have Eggman's plans, they can plan and know what to do against him since they know what Eggman is going to do!" Isabella countered. Geoffrey glared at her. "You are not in position to talk to me like that, mogoose! Remember, I'm the king here and you cannot disobey the king!" he spat.

"Technically, you may be the king, but the council also controls some of your laws. You need enough votes to pass on laws and those votes come directly from the council itself! And remember, it's the council that passes on the orders here, not _you!_ " the mongoose retaliated. Sonic and his friends looked at each other. This was certainly not the trial they were expecting. Geoffrey and Isabella continued to argue until Penelope's voice cut over theirs. "Enough! Geoffrey you may be king, but Isabella has a point. You can't command everything here, the council first has to discuss this", she said. Geoffrey's eyes went wide and he sputtered. Isabella smirked. "Thank you Penelope", she said sitting down. Penelope looked at Team Fighters.

"Now then, you want to arrest Team Fighters for disobeying the _council's_ orders, am I correct?" she asked Geoffrey. "Yes", he simply said. Penelope nodded. "Well then, in order to do that we need to take a vote". Geoffrey's eyes went wide. "You can't do that! I'm the king here, and I order the council to put these blokes behind bars!" he exclaimed. "According the New Mobotropolis law, you can't directly order the council to arrest someone without an official vote" Chuck replied. Geoffrey fumed. "Fine!" he shouted. "All in favor of Team Fighters being arrested", he said.

"Yeah", Geoffrey said holding up his hand. Sonic grit his teeth. "Nay", Rosemary said putting her fist down. "Nay", Chuck said doing the same thing. "Nay", Hamlin said. "Nay" Dylan said. He was followed by Penelope and Isabella doing the same. "Nay", they both replied. Geoffrey looked with shock. "And that confirms that Team Fighters will _not_ be arrested due to the council's votes", Rosemary said smiling at Tails. The fox smiled back. Geoffrey slammed both hands on the table and stood up.

"No! You blokes all planned this on me! Wait till I tell Naugus! He will set you all straight!" Geoffrey yelled. Hamlin glared at the skunk. "Well we can't arrest them. Someone needs to defend the kingdom", he said. Geoffrey glared back. "I'm here! With my powers I can crush Eggman and anyone! That's why Naugus took over in the first place!" he yelled. Isabella turned to him. "And what if Eggman attacks here and somewhere else? Team Fighters would be in jail, unable to do anything and with Naugus ill, you can't be multiple places at once!" she countered. Geoffrey opened his mouth to say something, but shut it when he had nothing to say. The mongoose had outsmarted him _again._ She had Nicole welcomed back in the kingdom after her exile and now she along with the other council members had saved Team Fighters. Isabella smirked.

"Case closed", she said before walking out smiling to Team Fighters. Penelope followed along with the other members, who all congratulated them for getting hold of the manuscripts. Chuck and Rosemary stayed behind and talked with Team Fighters. "You rocked, Uncle Chuck! You sure showed Stinky not to mess with us!" Sonic exclaimed hugging his uncle. Chuck laughed. "I'm not too old to fight, son". Tails hugged Rosemary. "Wow, that was awesome! Geoffrey got destroyed, Mom! You were so cool!" he exclaimed. Rosemary smiled back. "Well, I'm not going to see my son behind bars". Amy sighed.

"Well now that that's over with, lets go rest up and try to figure out what we'll do next" she said. Rotor nodded. "I'll have a look at those manuscripts you guys told me about. Since we're going to Spagonia tommorow, we better know what we're going to do!" the walrus said. Rosie and Dr. Quack sighed. "Well, we'd better get going", Rosie said. "Yes, good luck Team Fighters", Quack said before he walked out with Rosie. Sonic then turned to his uncle. "So, how's Mom and Dad? How's dad doing y'know with his health and everything?" Chuck smiled. "Guess what, after you guys left, Rotor and Nicole built a portable deroboticizer with my help and we were able to deroboticize Jules!" he exclaimed. Sonic' face lit up. "So dad's not a robot anymore?" he asked. Chuck nodded. "You better believe it sonny boy!" he said before Sonic had tackled him into a giant bear hug. Tails and Amy smiled. They were happy to see Sonic's day had finally turned good. Tails turned to his mom.

"How's dad?" he asked. "Oh the usual. Amadeus has been training the soldiers more harder with the events going on and currently he's the Acorn family guard since Antoine isn't here right now", his mom said. Tails smiled. "Well that's good since the king and queen have dad as their guard. I'm proud of him!" he said. Rosemary ruffled her son's hair. "Well, I'll be heading on home now. Amadeus must almost be coming home as well. Once you're done with your work here, then come on home. I'll have a very special dinner cooked for you!" she said. Tails nodded. "Okay, bye mom!" he said. Rosemary walked out waving bye to her son. Chuck turned to Sonic.

"Well, I'll be heading home as well. I'll tell Jules and Bernie that your home and your mother will make your favorite chili dogs as well. Muttski will also be happy to see you!" he said. Sonic grinned. "Aw yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" he said as Chuck walked out waving bye. Rotor then turned to the team. "Well, let's head over to Freedom HQ. Nicole's waiting for us as well as Big." Amy then spoke up. "Wait, I'll try to go convince Vanilla to let Cream come as well. It would be better if Team Rose was there as well!" she said. Sonic nodded. "You go on Ames, we'll meet you at Freedom HQ", he said as Amy nodded and ran off to the Rabbits' house. "Come on, I have so much to show you!" Rotor said as he, Sonic, Tails and T-Pup walked to Freedom HQ.

 _ **Nocturne, Twilight Cage**_

"BBOOOOMMM!" The sounds of cannons and gunshots roared on Nocturne as the war raged on. Thrash the Devil along with Lien-Da and Remington were helping the echidnas fight the Nocturnus Clan. Knuckles was running towards Ix's headquarters to find Julie-Su and Saffron while Mighty and Ray were busy fighting Prefects Charyb and Scylla. The duo was having a tough time dealing with the gizoids. Having the elements of water and fire, Charyb and Scylla were nearly untouchable. _Nearly._ Mighty was able to land a few good hits on Charyb before the gizoid had activated his water shield and was now blasting Mighty with water shot. Scylla had done the same, except that he was dominating Ray. Charyb may have been stronger than Scylla, but he had the stronger opponent to deal with. Mighty dodged a water shot and kicked Charyb back. The gizoid skidded on his feet before charging at Mighty holding his energy blade.

"Mighty Slash!" he roared before slashing Mighty with his energy blade with water . The armadillo was sent hurtling back and landed on his back. Brushing himself off, he charged back at Charyb only for the gizoid to block and counter Mighty's attack sending the armadillo a good distance away. "Your pathetic!" Charyb spat at Mighty before blasting him with another water shot. Scylle twirled his blade around himself, creating a fire streak around the red gizoid. Ray took a step back. Laughing maniacally, he slammed into Ray and sent the squirrel nearly flying into the lava. Using his ability to fly, Ray ascended away from the lava taking a deep breath. Scylla then threw his blade at Ray who dodged and rocketed towards Scylla. However, Ray was hit in the back with the blade since it had come rocketing back like a boomerang.

"What's wrong kid? Too afraid to say something?" Scylla said as he blasted Ray with a fire shot. Ray glared at Scylla. "Not at all!" he shouted before rushing and uppercutting Scylla. The gizoid just back flipped and let Ray have it in the face with both his feet. The squirrel went tumbling back and Scylla rushed at him. Mighty looked at Scylla and knew Ray was in trouble so he charged and body slammed into Scylla sending the gizoid off his feet. "GYAAH!" Scylla shouted as he went slamming into the ground. Mighty then rushed forward ready to smash Scylla to bits, but Charyb stopped him with another Mighty Slash. He then repeated the Mighty Slash over and over again until Mighty was down on his knees gasping. Charyb then kicked Mighty in the face before blasting him with three water shots. He then turned to Scylla who was tossing Ray around like a ragdoll. Scylla punched and spinkicked Ray to the ground. The squirrel got up ready to fight back but stopped when he saw Charyb advancing towards him. He looked at Mighty, who was beaten to submission by Charyb and immediatly knew this was it for him.

"Your done for kid!" Scylla said. Charyb looked at Ray. "Hmph, and I thought you two were actually going to put up a fight". He then sneered at Ray. "Weren't you saying something about karma hitting us? Well, looks like luck is not on your side", he said. Charyb and Scylla both raised their energy blades ready to slash Ray to death and the squirrel was shivering with fear. Suddenly, Charyb was grabbed from behind and tossed away as Mighty then dropkicked Scylla who was about to smack Mighty with his blade. "Ray now!" Mighty said and Ray took off rocketing towards Scylla. Mighty then turned to Charyb who was charging at him. "You'll pay for that you wretch!" he said as he tried to smack Mighty with a Mighty Slash. The armadillo just dodged and sweeped his legs, taking out Charyb. He then grabbed the gizoid and headbutt him before uppercutting him a good distance.

"Karma is gonna hit you!" Mighty shouted as he charged at Charyb. Scylla and Ray were duking it out fiercely. Ray tried to punch and spinkicked Scylla but the gizoid dodged it and delivered a powerful kick followed by a Mighty Slash. Ray hit the ground hard. Scylla sneered at Ray. "Looks like your not in your game, little boy", he cackled. Ray's anger flared. "I'll show you!" Ray screamed before smashing his leg into Scylla's face. The gizoid went stumbling back as Ray lit onto him, swiping his tail and repeatedly launching punches at Scylla. Scylla tried to attack Ray with his blade, but Ray just dodged it. The gizoid kicked Ray hard in the gut, but the squirrel just got up and delivered a powerful blow to the side of the face. Scylla stumbled and dropped his blade. Ray immediatly grabbed it and kicked Scylla again.

"HOW'S THIS FOR KARMA?!" he shouted before brutally slashing Scylla's body apart. "GAAHH!" Scylla screamed as he was slashed open. Ray then kicked the shredded gizoid down. Scylla had been defeated. Now it was Charyb's turn. Ray looked to see Mighty and Charyb struggling to hit each other as both were dodging and launching attacks. Charyb kicked Mighty and rammed into the armadillo with his shoulder. He then gave Mighty a powerful slash and blasted the armadillo with a charged water shot. Mighty had a deep gashed running down his chest and was bleeding. In fact, Charyb's energy blade had Mighty's blood on it. Charyb laughed. "Looks like your time has run out!" he said preparing to slash Mighty's heart open. But the armadillo took this opportunity to jump up and smash his fist into Charyb's face. The gizoid now had a dent on the side. Charyb tried to shoot Mighty again and slash him, but the armadillo just dodged and gave a powerful kick to Charyb's arm. The gizoid stumbled backwards and Mighty gave the killer punch to Charyb's torso, completly smashing through it.

"ARRGGGHH!" Charyb yelled in pain. Mighty twisted his hand, causing more damage to the gizoid. Charyb dropped his energy blade in pain. Mighty picked it up and got ready to finish off Charyb. "Mighty!" he heard Ray yelled and turned to see the squirrel toss Scylla's energy blade. Mighty caught it and grinned at Ray. He then dual wielded the blades and glared at Charyb. "Actually, it's your time", Mighty smirked. "I-impossib-ble..." Charyb said. Mighty then swiftly slashed Charyb apart. The gizoids ripped body fell down. Mighty then tossed Scylla's blade back to Ray.

"C'mon. let's go help the others", he said. Ray nodded and the two took off in the war, swinging the blades at the Nocturnus warriors.

 _ **Ix's Tower, Nocturne**_

Knuckles hid behind a wall and peeked at the entrance. It was heavily guarded. _Can't go through there. Guess I have to find another way._ Knuckles looked around trying to find a way in without being spotted. He then looked up. There were a few snipers and soldiers on the roof. He could take them. "Looks like I'm going up", he said before sticking his spikes in the wall and climbing up. He climbed halfway, before jumping off and gliding to a nearby building with a sniper on top. He climbed halfway and stopped. The sniper was looking toward the side. Seizing the opportunity, Knuckles swung forward on the building kicking the sniper in the face immediatly knocking him out. Landing softly, Knuckles hid behind the wall quickly. He peeked and saw another sniper walking his way. Thinking quickly, Knuckles slid forward, making the sniper trip and Knuckles grabbed the sniper before slamming him down. Knuckles held the unconcious sniper and dragged him with the echidna. He climbed another wall before hiding. There was another one, walking around.

"Another one? Damn, these guys are everywhere!" he said. He looked at the sniper who was walking around and then looked down at the unconcious one. He threw the unconcious sniper where the other was. The sniper stopped walking around and looked in surprise. He quickly scanned his surroundings holding up his arm cannon. Then he bent down to check. Just then, Knuckles leapt out of his hiding spot and charged towards the sniper who had heard Knuckles and dropkicked him. The sniper fell down unconcious and Knuckles rushed over and hopped over to another building. There were two snipers now, each patrolling. Knuckles hid behind a turret and sighed.

"How many more?" he hissed. He looked over. They were just walking around and looking in every direction. Knuckles cursed under his breath. "Shit! Looks like I won't be able to take these guys by surprise! Gotta make this quick before any one else sees!" he exclaimed before leaping out of his hiding spot and rushing toward the two snipers who raised their guns and fired. Knuckles dodged their lasers and smashed both fists into the snipers' face. He then punched them both before back handing them at the same time, knocking them out. Quickly, he dove behind a spotlight. Glancing under the spotlight, Knuckles could see the tower. He was just a few buildings away. He checked to see if there were any snipers, but there weren't. Rushing out of his hiding spot, Knuckles jumped to a building before leaping off and gliding to another one. He then glided to the next one and using his spiked fists, he climbed up the side of the building before dusting himself off. _Almost there._

"That's far enough, guardian". The voice made Knuckles froze as he recognized that voice. He turned around, but saw no one. "Over here", he heard before turning around again. "Show yourself, Shade!" he shouted. "Well, it seems you haven't forgotten me", she said. Knuckles turned around to see Shade standing behind him. He glared at the other one. "I won't let you kill my kind. I'm the last of it and I'm going to protect them", he said clenching his fists. Shade laughed. "The last of your kind? Really, how naive are you?" she said before pulling off her mask. Knuckles stared in shock. Standing before him was an orange echidna wearing a black headband with purple writing on it. She was wearing her black battlesuit as well.

"Y-your an echidna?" Knuckles asked bewildered. Shade smirked. "We all are. The Nocturnus Clan is the rival echidna clan of the Pachamac Clan. We are the superior race. I'm surprised you didn't know earlier", she mused. Knuckles snarled. "The documents don't say anything about you being echidnas. You guys were just some shadowy group trying to steal the Master Emerald for its power". Shade's smirk didn't fade. "We wanted the emerald to create a utopia for all species. To live in harmony. The Forgotten Wars was just an example of how people like Mammoth Mogul needed to be erased from the world. Pachamac didn't understand and he along with his group imprisoned us in this dimension. However, that has only made us stronger. And now, these echidnas have chosen to fight with us just like Pachamac had, but now we're going to kill them. Lord Ix can do that with the power of the Chaos Emerald". Knuckles' eyes widened. _Ix has a Chaos Emerald? Not good, not good at all. I have to get it back._ Knuckles then narrowed his eyes down at Shade.

"Step out of the way, Shade. I won't have to hurt you, I hate fighting girls", he said. Shade just snapped her fingers and soon Knuckles found himself surrounded by four other Nocturnus warriors, who had orange hair as well, but wearing masks that covered their face only. "And I hate fighting people who say girls can't do anything. Now I'll make you regret those words. Master Ix will be pleased to see you and now _you will die. Attack, Nocturnus Velites!_ " she exclaimed before all four echidnas started running around Knuckles in a circle. The red echidna looked in confusion.

"Now what is this?" Knuckles muttered. He slowly backed away when he noticed the Velites were closing in. Suddenly he was struck from behind by a Velite. Knuckles stumbled forward only to be hit again. Crouching down, Knuckles thought for a minute. _Interesting. Their attack style is very smart. I can't even fight my way out. Gotta think._ His mind began racing faster when they closed in more, blades ready. _Got it._ Knuckles suddenly jumped and smashed his way in the ground below him just as the Velites closed in and smacked into each other. Shade didn't move, but closely listened before jumping away as Knuckles tore through where Shade once stood. He looked to see Shade had evaded his attack.

"Damn you!" Knuckles exclaimed before rushing towards her. Shade blocked Knuckles' punch before countering with her own, sending the guardian flying back. _Man, she's strong!_ Knuckles stood up, only for him to be surrounded again.

"You aren't even a challenge, guardian. I can easily foresee your attacks and you simply do not have a strategy. Just surrender and stop making this hard on yourself. Perhaps Master Ix may even show you mercy out of the respect he has for you", Shade said. Knuckles grit his teeth. "I'll show you how strong I am! And I don't need your master's mercy because I won't let him succeed!" Knuckles shouted before lunging forward. However, a Velite blocked his way and punched him back. The other Velites began to strike Knuckles in every direction. The echidna tried to block their hits, but didn't work. He then managed to land a hit on one of the Velites sending it stumbling. He rolled out the way and grabbed the Velite, before chucking him at the others. He turned around only to be kicked back by Shade who then slashed Knuckles with her blade.

"You stand no chance!" Shade yelled. Knuckles took two Velites and bashed their heads together before tossing them aside. They just got up and rushed at Knuckles again before kicking both his arms. The red echidna went tumbling down as the four Velites kicked him repeatedly. Knuckles grabbed one of them before spinning them in a circle taking out all four. He then got up and rammed both fists into two Velites before punching them repeatedly, knocking them out cold.

"Not bad", Shade said before snapping her fingers again. The two remaining Velites teleported beside her. Knuckles got in a fighting stance, ready to fight back. Shade then pointed her finger at Knuckles before the two Velites teleported beside him and kicked both his arms. They sweeped his legs and grabbed them before tossing Knuckles in the air. Both Velites jumped and kick slammed the echidna down hard. Knuckles just got up and struck on Velite hard on the side before grabbing him and smashing him into his partner. He slammed both fists on one Velite knocking him out and the other threw a Stasis Grenade at Knuckles. The echidna just picked up the unconcious Velite and blocked the grenade before tossing him back to the other. He ran towards the Velite that had fired the grenade and dropkicked him before punching him with the spikes. With all the Velites knocked out, Knuckles turned to Shade only to see her vanished. Looking around he walked slowly, fists held to his face like a boxer. Suddenly he felt a draft of wind and turning around he saw a foot rocketing towards his face. Acting quickly, he blocked it only to be pushed far back.

"Finally decide to not play hide and seek huh?" Knuckles said. Shade smirked. "Don't be foolish. You made a grave mistake in challenging the Procurator. I've never lost a fight before!" she said pulling out her blade. "Yeah, well that's about to change!" he yelled before charging at her. Shade dodged Knuckles' punch and kicked him in the side. She then viciously swung her blade, but Knuckles dodged. He tried to grab Shade's hand, but the female echidna just punched him. She then dropkicked Knuckles before spinkicking him a good distance away. "Pathetic", she spat. "You're too easy to beat. I suggest you change your tactics!". Shade rushed at Knuckles with her blade. Knuckles waited for Shade to approach before swiftly moving to the right and smacking Shade in the face with his fist. Shade flipped and skidded on her feet before turning around and seeing Knuckles charging at her. She ducked and sweeped her legs, but Knuckles did the same and both ended up falling. Scrambling to her feet, Shade managed to dodge Knuckles only to be dropkicked. She sweeped her legs again, but Knuckles jumped. Before Knuckles could do anything, Shade rolled over and uppercut Knuckles before rushing at him with her blade.

"Blade Rush!" Shade shouted before feinting left and slashing right. Knuckles cried out as the pain hit him, but Shade didn't stop there. She continued to strike Knuckles from multiple directions and soon she jumped up and gave Knuckles a downward slash that sent the echidna flying away. Knuckles grudgingly got up before smashing the ground with his fist and picking up a chunk of the floor. He hurled it at Shade who just slashed it away. She failed to notice Knuckles sliding under and uppercutting her. Shade rolled up and kicked Knuckles in the head before leaping up and tossing a regular grenade down and prepared to slam the blade down.

"Blade Drop!" she cried as a massive shockwave sent Knuckles off his feet. Shade kicked his face before pinning him down. "You cannot win. Just... stop hurting yourself", she said. Knuckles glared at her. "Never!" he yelled before grabbing her foot and throwing her away. Standing up, Knuckles and Shade stared each other down. Both were not going down without a fight. Shade readied her blade before charging at Knuckles. Knuckles just sharpened his spikes before charging back. Both held their arm back, ready to give the finishing blow.

"Blade Rush!" Shade yelled. "Sharp Knuckle!" Knuckles yelled as both attacks collided, with Knuckles overpowering Shade. Shade was sent hurling back, before skidding to a stop. She tried to get up, but Knuckles held his spiked fist at her throat. "Stop. You lost already. My Sharp Knuckle can tear through anything, and that's why I didn't do this earlier. You left me no choice though". Shade glumly looked down. "You are powerful, Knuckles. Never have I ever lost a fight before, so I must thank you for this opportunity", she said. Knuckles looked with pity. Shade did look defeated. He just didn't know what to do now. "Tell me, did you know someone named Tikal before?" Knuckles asked. He had been thinking about this for a while. Shade looked up in surprise. "Tikal, my friend. Yes she was the one who was the light in my day. We were best friends even though her dad didn't like it. When I had heard how Chaos had wiped out the whole clan, I was heartbroken and had no where to go. So I decided to join Master Ix. He isn't evil, Knuckles. All he wants is for us to live in harmony and for that he just plans to move Nocturne to your world", she said. Knuckles' eyes widened. _All they want to do is move into our world? Were these guys even evil or was it my clan that was selfish?_ Knuckles shook his head.

"He still wants to kill my friends and for that, I must stop him. I won't kill him or anything. I just want the warp ring back home. Can you tell me how to get into Ix's main room without being detected?" he asked. Shade looked at him for a minute, before pointing at a little balcony. "Through there, you can get on the roof, which is made of glass. Ix's main room is on the very top and there is not much security up top", she said. Knuckles nodded. "Thank you", he said before leaping off and gliding towards the balcony. The moment he left, Shade took out a speaker and spoke into it.

"Lord Ix, the echidna is on his way to your room. He will enter from the balcony". On the other end, a loud voice boomed. "Let him come. I look forward to meeting him", Ix said. Shade nodded. "Yes sir", she said before shutting off the speaker and leaping off the building on the ground. The guards aimed their weapons at her, but put them down once they knew who it was. "Don't let anyone inside", she ordered. The guards nodded as their commander walked inside.

"Damn these guards!" Knuckles exclaimed as he fought off the last one. He had taken them out fast when he landed. Knuckles made his way up the roof. Looking in the glass, he could make out a figure in a purple robe. _Ix!_ Knuckles took a deep breath before smashing his fist against the window, breaking it completly. Jumping inside, Knuckles landed on the floor and looked at the other one in the room. "Ix!" he shouted. Ix just smiled.

"Imperator Ix, guardian", Ix boomed. Knuckles glared at the echidna. "So, you're this Ix guy everyone's been talking about", he said, readying his spikes. Ix laughed. "Yes, I am the leader of the Nocturnus Clan. I also know what you are here for, guardian". Knuckles took a step closer. "So you know that I will not let you kill my friends, right?" Ix held his staff firmly. "Correct". Knuckles snarled. "Well, not gonna happen!" Knuckles shouted before charging at Ix. The imperator just created a barrier around himself and Knuckles bounced off.

"Fool, if death is what you seek then I shall gladly give it to you!" Ix boomed before charging up his staff and firing a green energy from it. Knuckles dodged it and charged at Ix again, only to bounce off the barrier. "What is that thing made of?" Knuckles shouted. "Pure Chaos energy, which cannot be destroyed", Ix said as he fired another laser. Knuckles then picked up a chunk of the floor and tossed it at Ix but it just exploded when it hit the barrier. Ix laughed at he fired another shot, this one hitting Knuckles and momentarily stunning the guardian.

"You simply cannot win, Knuckles", Ix said before flying towards Knuckles and smacking him with the staff, sending the echidna flying. "For centuries we have been imprisoned in this dimension and we seek retribution", he boomed before firing three shots that all hit Knuckles. Knuckles struggled to his feet and charged at Ix.

"Quake Punch!" Knuckles exclaimed as he jumped and smashed his fist on the ground creating a massive quake. However due to his levitation, Ix was unaffected by the attack and smacked Knuckles with his staff before firing a charged shot at Knuckles. He cried out in pain as the shot hit him, burning his skin and sending him flying back even more before he crashed into a wall. Ix just looked at Knuckles and shook his head.

"Pathetic, just pathetic", he said. "You are nothing more than a mere fool who acts without thinking and believe you will win". Knuckles' anger flared and he roared in fury before charging at Ix. "KNUCKLES SLAM!" he shouted as he smashed both fists on the ground and created a shock wave that could give anyone a migraine. He was surrounded in a glowing red aura and seemed to be sprouting fire as he ran towards Ix. The imperator just held out his staff and the barrier turned into swirling energy. Knuckles' attack collided with Ix and created an explosion. Knuckles was sent flying back as Ix stood, not even fazed by the attack. He flew over to Knuckles before surrounding the guardian with green energy, immobilizing him. Knuckles was now on his knees as Ix aimed the staff at him.

"You are such a fool. Did you really expect I wouldn't know where you would come from and why?" Ix sneered. Knuckles just glared back not doing anything considering how battered and beaten he was. "I have eyes everywhere, Knuckles. You cannot hide from me", Ix said as Shade appeared behind the imperator smirking. Knuckles' eyes went wide as he suddenly felt betrayed.

"Why?" he whispered. Shade snorted. "Because, you are in our way. Like I said, the Nocturnus will do anything to accomplish their goals. Too bad your friends didn't believe that" she said. Knuckles snarled at her. "What did you do to Julie-Su and Saffron?" he asked. Ix chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. They are currently resting up as we speak", he said before pointing to his friends who were both breathing hard and on the floor, more beaten than Knuckles. Knuckles gasped.

"Julie-Su, Saffron!", he shouted trying to break free, but couldn't. Julie-Su opened her eyes and smiled at him. "K-Knuckles... it really is y-you", she said. She had multiple cuts and bruises along with blood on her. The same with Saffron, who was currently unconcious. Knuckles screamed in anger. "YOU BASTARD! I WILL KILL YOU!" he shouted. Ix just electrocuted Knuckles who screamed in pain. "Silence, your death has come now. Say goodbye guardian", he said preparing to behead Knuckles. Shade looked with uneasiness.

"Oh no, red ain't going down today!" a voice yelled from the door. Ix and Shade turned around, shocked to find Mighty, Ray, Thrash, Lien-Da, Remington, and the Brotherhood of Guardians: Thunderhawk, Sabre, Spectre and Sojourner. "What are you doing here?" Ix boomed. "We came here after the explosion to help Knuckles!" Thunderhawk shouted. Mighty smirked. "Your done for, Ix-xy", he said. Thrash pounded his fists. "Finally, an echidna that I actually can vent my anger out on". Ix roared in frustration before aiming the staff at them, letting Knuckles go who collapsed in exhaustion.

"I WON'T LET YOU RUIN MY PLANS! I WILL KILL YOU ALL! YOU WON'T GET IN MY WAY OF MY TAKEOVER OF MOBIUS!" he roared. Shade was shocked. "Taking over Mobius? But master, our plan was to simply move Nocturne into Mobius and live peacefully!" she said. "Yes, to live peacefully by taking it over!" Ix said. "Yeah, um not gonna happen!" Lien-Da retorted. And with that, they all charged at Ix who charged back, violently swinging his staff. The Brotherhood helped Julie-Su, Saffron and Knuckles. Shade stayed behind, still rendering the words Ix said to her. _Taking over Mobius? That's not what we planned at all!_ she thought.

"Are you okay, Knuckles?" Spectre asked. Knuckles nodded. "Just beat up, but fine. And you guys..." he trailed off. Sabre nodded. "We are okay. We don't age in this dimension. Finitevus had forgotten about that before he imprisoned us here". Sojourner then spoke up. "By the way, we heard about Locke. Sorry for your loss", he said. Knuckles nodded.

"RRAAAGGGHHH!" Ix boomed. He blasted everyone with a Chaos Blast, sending them flying. "YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR ME, INFERIOR MOBIANS!" he said. "Urggh, somebody shut this guy up. I hate his voice", Mighty said rubbing his throbbing head. "He's too strong! We can't even land a hit on him!" Remington exclaimed before he was blasted into a wall. The tower shook with force as the battle raged on. Thrash blasted Ix with a sonic scream, but the imperator stayed his ground before smacking Thrash away. Lien-Da roundhouse kicked Ix before shooting him with her gun. It did nothing however, and Lien-Da was sent flying into a wall. Mighty and Ray charged at Ix, doing their tag team attack with Ray grabbing Mighty and flying him into Ix kicking the imperator before the squirrel let go and spun into a stomp on Ix. Ix just blasted Ray with a laser before doing the same with Mighty who dodged right into Ix's staff. Both members of the Chaotix were sent into a wall. Thrash and Remigton charged at Ix again. Remington flipped forward kicking Ix and Thrash blasted the imperator with a sonic scream at full power. Everyone except Ix covered their ears. Mighty who was going to charge back at Ix stumbled holding his ears due to the sound Thrash was making. The devil eventually tired out and Ix blasted everyone with multiple lasers, knocking them back.

"Looks like you lost!" Ix boomed. Everyone struggled to get up, but couldn't due to Ix's power. "Not so fast!" Shade yelled. She grabbed the Chaos Emerald before shouting to Knuckles. "Knuckles, catch!" she yelled before chucking the emerald at the echidna who caught it. Ix glared at Shade. "So you've decided to become traitor to the Nocturnus Clan I see? For that, you must pay with your life!" he said. Shade glared back. "I'd rather die then follow your twisted plans, Ix!" she said rushing at him. Ix just laughed and blasted Shade away before pinning her to a wall.

"So be it" he said ready to kill his Procurator. "Hold it!" Ix was suddenly blasted off Shade and was sent hurtling to the wall, but he managed to halt himself. He then looked at Knuckles who was floating in the air, glowing in a red aura. He was shining bright due to the emerald, whose power he had absorbed. "This time your done for Ix!" Knuckles shouted before flying towards Ix. The imperator just smiled before flying back. The two collided with each other in their fiery auras and started attacking each other.

"Knuckles Slam!" Knuckles yelled as he smashed his fist into Ix, creating a large shock wave that gave Ix a throbbing headache. Knuckles then flew forward and punched Ix in the face, sending the imperator flying back. Shaking his head, Ix saw Knuckles and launched multiple energy beams. Knuckles just dodged them and kicked Ix on the side. He then tried to punch Ix, but the imperator dodged and smacked Knuckles with his staff. "Chaos Blast!" he yelled erupting in green energy, sending Knuckles back. He recovered and flew back to Ix before launching several punches. Ix just dodged them and blasted Knuckles with a swipe of his staff. Ix then shielded himself with an even more powerful barrier than before.

"You are not going to win at all. I suggest to stop delaying the inevitable Knuckles and face your fate", Ix said before charging up a few green energy beams and launching them at Knuckles who dodged and flew towards him. "Actually, it's you whose delaying the inevitable!" Knuckles roared as he punched through Ix's barrier, completly shattering it and sending the imperator flying. Ix cried out as his main defense was down. Knuckles then launched a series of Knuckles Slam at Ix, but the imperator dodged them and retaliated with a powerful charged shot. Ix then began to channel purple energy within his hand before releasing it.

"Dark Anomaly!" Ix yelled as a large purple void appeared out of his hands and he launched it at Knuckles. The echidna shielded himself from the attack, but it didn't do much and soon he was starting to tire out. _No, I can't go down like this. I have to finish this fast before the emerald's power runs out!_ Knuckles thought as he raced towards Ix. "Still not giving up?" he mused before firing another Dark Anomaly. Knuckles dodged the attack and held his fist out before spinning into a red swirl and crashing into Ix sending him flying back. Ix suddenly roared with rage and channeled green energy in his hand.

"THIS IS YOUR END! DOOM ORB!" Ix shouted before launching a green orb at Knuckles. Knuckles snarled before flying towards the orb and smashing through it with a powered up punch. Ix looked with shock. "HOW? THAT SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU OR AT THE LEAST, MAIMED YOU!" he shouted. Knuckles dodged an energy blst and uppercut Ix before slamming both fists on him. He then launched a series of Knuckles' Slams before holding back his arm and spinning around. His arm started to ignite with fire as so did the rest of his body when he spun. Knuckles roared in anger as his rage was building up to the maximum point. Ix backed away slowly, knowing this was not good.

"KNUCKLES' FURY!" Knuckles boomed as he flew forward while spinning and giving Imperator Ix a massive, fiery uppercut that took Ix's strength away. "NOOOOOOoooo..." Ix cried as he fell down, completly worn out and unable to fight. Knuckles, still spinning slowly stopped and fell down hard. That last attack had really left him exhausted as well. Everyone rushed over to him and helped him stand up.

"Whoa, Knux! That was one sick move you pulled off there!" Mighty exclaimed. "Indeed, Knuckles. I have never seen you that angry", Lien-Da commented. "I don't know what happened", Knuckles said. "The emerald must've given me some kind of boost or something. I'm downright tired right now". Shade looked at Ix, who was out cold and walked over to him, before taking out a warp ring from his pocket. She handed the ring to Thrash, who took it in confusion.

"Although I'm grateful, why'd ya help us, mate?" he asked. Shade sighed. "All I wanted my whole life was to get out of here and live on Mobius peacefully and enjoy life. Ix however, wanted to take that away and live a life of dictatorship. I didn't want that to happen at all costs. Now I'm definitly going to be hunted by the other Nocturnus for treachery, but it was worth it" she said. Remington nodded. "Well thank you. We'll always remember your sacrifice Shade. But you can still live on Mobius. Come with us and you can begin your new life", he said. Shade looked at him in shock. "Really?" she asked. Remington nodded. "Also, it would be great to have another echidna to the world". Knuckles looked at Shade and smiled at her, who in turn smiled back. Julie-Su then decided to speak up.

"Hey... Shade right? How about y-you come to Angel Island a-and help guard the Master Emerald?" she asked. Everyone looked at Julie-Su in shock. Shade looked in surprise. "Oh my, guard the Master Emerald? I don't think I should accept that much. I just want to live on Mobius. Sure it would be great, but I don't deserve it", she said. Julie-Su smiled. "Well, now you d-do. After... what you d-did there, you are my f-friend now", she said. The Brotherhood looked at Knuckles. "How do you feel about this Knuckles?" Thunderhawk asked. Knuckles nodded.

"Sure, we always could use another person. Besides, we need another member for the Chaotix. How do you two feel about a new team mate?" he asked Mighty and Ray. Mighty just grinned. "Hey, I'm always ready to have another Chaotix", he said. "Same here, i-it will be awesome!" Ray exclaimed. Shade smiled, tears swelling up.

"T-thank you people. I will forever be indebted to you!" she said. Julie-Su just smiled and put her arms out and she hugged Shade, who hugged back. Everyone cheered in hapiness. Knuckles then looked back. "Lien-Da, you can stop hiding now", he said. Lien-Da, who was a little far away looked in surprise. "W-what? I'm not hiding I-" she was cut off by Julie-Su. "It's okay, we forgive you too. C'mon, join the hug sister!" she said. Lien-Da shyly smiled before joining in. Remington grinned at her.

"Are you nervous? Wow that's a first. You still look good that way", he said causing Lien-Da to blush. Thrash then looked around. "Uh guys, I think we better get going before Nocturnus forces catch us!" he said before tossing the warp ring and opening up a portal to Angel Island. Soon everyone walked through the warp ring.

"Wow, is this Angel Island?" Shade asked. Julie-Su chuckled. "Yup. I'll give you a tour tommorow after I heal up", she said. While everyone talked, Knuckles and Thrash were having their own conversation. "You know, you weren't half bad out there today", Knuckles said. Thrash grinned. "Same to you, mate. You did well. I'm glad to have gone on this adventure", he said. "So, we're good now, right? No more punishing echidnas and all that?" Knuckles asked. "Yeah, I guess I went a little too overboard. But I'll stop and mend my ways. I look forward to fighting you again Knuckles, this time on a friendlier notice", Thrash said. Knuckles smiled and nodded. "Same. Well, now where are you going to go?" he asked. "Probably rejoin the Downunda Freedom Fighters. It was really fun over there", Thrash said before opening up a warp ring to Downunda. Waving bye, Thrash stepped through and the ring closed. Knuckles smiled and turned around.

"C'mon let's go to Shrine Isle and let the others know we're okay", he said and everyone followed.

 _ **Research Facility, Death Egg**_

The sound of machines whirring and constant banging of robots sounding throughout the Death Egg as Eggman was fixing up a destroyed Metal Sonic.

"Arrgghh! The damage done on him is absolutely horrid! That rotten hedgehog didn't spare Metal Sonic at all!" Eggman said, trying to fix a damaged circuit. "I still cannot believe I lost the manuscripts like that! My plans are now ruined, and that Sonic is celebrating his victory. Not to mention, Mecha Sally isn't even fixed yet", he said. Suddenly, Orbot and Cubot strolled behind him.

"Sir, we have good news", Orbot said. Eggman faced them. "Go on", he said. "It appears that the manuscripts the heroes have currently has been linked to a different location. It appears that Spagonia has an intelligent man who goes by the name Professor Pickle and he might know something about the Gaia Manuscripts. However it seems that Team Fighters also knows this and they are heading to Spagonia tommorow to enquire", Orbot said.

"Hahaha, his name is Pickle!" Cubot giggled, his voice chip finally repaired. "Shut up, you yellow trash can. Don't ruin my mood right now! It seems things are going in my favor now!" Eggman exclaimed. "Orbot, set course for Spagonia at once!" he said. Orbot saluted his master before running off with Cubot in tow.

 _TO BE CONTINUED_

 ***Author's Note: And that wraps it up for the "Knuckles' Quest" arc! Our favorite echidna has finally been reunited with Julie-Su and the rest of the echidnas as well. And it seems that Eggman is up to no good again. Join us next time as Team Fighters and Eggman head for Spagonia and tangle in "Spagonia Scramble"!**

 **Also, happy new year everyone! I know this is up a little late, but it's still January 1st so it should count. And for the new year I have some news. Around sometime this month or in February, I will be starting a new fanfic which will be a Mario and Sonic crossover in celebration for the new olympics! It will be called "Mario and Sonic: Heroes From Another World". This will feature characters only from the games and will have ideas from other Mario and Sonic fanfics such as "Heroes Unite" by Azurixx. I will definitly take their permission first since it has alot of inspiration from it.**

 **EPIC Out!**


	9. Chapter 8: Spagonia Scramble Part 1

**Lost Hedgehog Tales**

 _CHAPTER 8: SPAGONIA SCRAMBLE PART 1_

 _ **Freedom HQ, New Mobotropolis; Night before the trip to Spagonia**_

"Well, this is fascinating!" Rotor Walrus exclaimed. He, along with Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, Big the Cat and the two robotic helpers T-Pup and Omochao were briefing over the Gaia Manuscripts and preparing for their trip to Spagonia. Tails looked at Rotor. "So, anything?" he asked. "Nope!" Rotor said. Everyone looked at each other strangely. "But I know a few words in this. See these two circles with the writing on it? The one on the left says Dark Gaia and the other says Light Gaia", he said pointing to the pictures.

"Huh, two Gaia's", Sonic said scratching his head. "Well Professor Pickle should be able to decode the whole thing anyways", Tails said. A purple holo lynx suddenly appeared in front of them. Her name was Nicole and she was wearing a purple toga with a red medal necklace, purple gloves, black pants with purple boots. "No suspicious activity from Geoffrey", she said. Amy shook her head. "Well that's a relief". "What about Naugus?" Sonic asked. "Haven't seen him either. I don't know where he is", Nicole said before turning to Rotor. "By the way, it's finished", she said. Rotor's face lit up with excitement before turning to a confused Tails.

"What?" he asked. "Remember our BIG project we planned and were building as a surprise to help us rescue Sally?" Rotor asked. Tails suddenly understood and nodded. "Oh yeah! It's finally finished?" he asked. Rotor nodded. "Yup, finished it while you guys were away. Nicole just finished up the touches". Sonic and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. "Um, Mr. Tails, Mr. Rotor what is this surprise you have?" Cream asked. Tails smirked. "Sorry Cream, but it's not going to be revealed until tommorow". Everyone except Tails, Rotor and Nicole groaned in annoyance.

"Ok everyone, go home and rest up! We have a big day tommorow and we need to be at our best!" Sonic said. Everyone else agreed and after saying goodnight to each other, they all left Freedom HQ and went to their respective homes.

 _ **Hedgehog Residence, New Mobotropolis**_

The smell of chilli dogs filled the air in a large house as a female hedgehog stood in a fairly large kitchen along with a male hedgehog, both cooking chilli dogs. Another male sat in the living room, which was large and had alot of space, reading a book and a dog was sleeping by the fireplace. They were the Hedgehog Family household, family of Sonic the Hedgehog. The female's name was Bernadette a.k.a Bernie, Sonic's mom. The man next to her tending to the chilli dogs was Sir Charles "Chuck" himself, the uncle of Sonic. The hedgehog in the living room reading was Jules the Hedgehog, father of Sonic and the dog was Muttski, Sonic's pet dog. Bernie turned to Chuck.

"Charles, can you pass the bread over?" she asked. Chuck grabbed the bread and gave it to Bernie. "Well, this is quite the amount of chilli dogs we have tonight", he said. Bernie smiled. "Well, our little boy is back from his mission after a whole week. And since alot has happened, I'm sure Sonic would just love to settle down and have a delicious dinner, wouldn't you say so Jules?" she called out to her husband who was reading. "Yes, indeed. He's going to fill himself up tonight", Jules said chuckling. "And wait till he sees your finally not a robot anymore, brother", Chuck said. Jules smiled. "Sonic is going to be so happy", he said petting Muttski, who was lying down. The door suddenly opened and coming inside was Sonic.

"Hey guys, I'm home!" he called out. Immediatly running towards him was Bernie who hugged him. "Oh Sonic we've missed you! I am so glad you are home, we all are!" she exclaimed. "Whoa mom, chill! Don't hug me to death!" Sonic exclaimed trying to free himself. Bernie immediatly let go and smiled. Jules chuckled and walked up to Sonic, who looked in excitement. "Dad, you're not a robot anymore!" he said hugging him. "Yes son, it feels good to be organic again. How was your mission?" he asked. Sonic shrugged. "We couldn't save Sal but we got ahold of something important Eggman had. Tommorow we're going to Spagonia to ask this professor named Pickle about these Gaia Manuscripts", Sonic said. Bernie' face fell.

"You're leaving again?" she asked. Sonic shook his head. "This time its only for a day or two. We just need to get there before Eggman does", he said. His mom sighed with relief while his dad chuckled. Muttski suddenly woke up and when he saw Sonic, the dog immediatly barked happily and ran towards him before tackling the hedgehog down and licking his face. "Yow! Whoa, Muttski! Down boy down!" Sonic yelped. Jules and Bernie laughed at the sight and right then, Chuck called from the kitchen. "The chilli dogs are ready! Everyone sit down at the table if you want your share!" Chuck said poking his head out. Everyone laughed and sat down to have a family dinner.

 _ **Prower Residence, New Mobotropolis**_

 __"Mom, where'd you put the Miles Electric?" Tails asked as he was searching throughout his whole lab in the basement of his house. The Prowers were great friends of the Hedgehog family and had known each other since the Great War. The Prower Family Household consisted of Tails himself, Rosemary Prower, his mom, Amadeus Prower, who was his dad and Merlin Prower, who was Tails' uncle and one of the ancient Neo Walkers. Rosemary called from upstairs as she was busy in the kitchen.

"Oh honey, it's on that top corner shelf near the black glass case!" she said. Tails looked where his mom said and found his beloved machine. "Thanks, Mom!" he called. He opened it up and took out a chip before replacing it with a new one. Tails turned it on and the screen beeped before flashing to life. Smiling, Tails put it in his bag which he was taking to Spagonia. He was going to need the Miles Electric to help analyze the Gaia Manuscripts. He couldn't wait to meet Professor Pickle again since the old man was quite the genius. Tails had really enjoyed his company since the last Mobius Science Meeting. Zipping up his bag, Tails raced upstairs with his bag and shut the basement door behind him. Watching TV in the living room was Merlin and Amadeus. Merlin was barely into TV but decided to watch the news with Amadeus. Apparently, Team Fighters' return from Holoska had spread around the kingdom and was now on Mobotropolis 6 News. Amadeus looked at his son and smirked.

"Son, you are only going for a day and yet you packed to last you a whole week!" he exclaimed. Merlin looked at Tails who just chuckled. "Dad, all this equipment is going to be used to utilize the Gaia Manuscripts we snagged from Eggman", he said. "Speaking of which, did you pack those documents up?" his dad asked. "Yup, put it in a neat folder!" Tails said nodding. "Well, do remember to be careful Miles", Merlin said. Merlin was the only one who still called Tails by his real name.

"Don't worry uncle Merlin", Tails said. "I'll be fine. I survived the Death Egg on the coldest continent on Mobius, so this will be a cakewalk". Merlin shook his head, frowning. "Still, I cannot stop believing that something _chaotic_ is going to happen. Things don't always turn out as you think", he said. "Oh, stop being so negative Merlin!" Rosemary said. "He'll be fine". Amadeus snickered. "She's right. Don't worry, our little boy has grown up alot. They're just going to meet a famous professor in Spagonia". Merlin sighed. "Still, be safe Miles. You are still young and do not forget that you are the chosen one". Tails frowned.

"Uncle Merlin, don't call me that. I don't like the chosen one. It just doesn't suit me", he said. Merlin smiled. "It doesn't change who you are. Just remember that". Rosemary then called from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready! Be the first one to claim your food!" she said as she set the dishes on the table. "Oh boy, I sure am excited to see what my dear wife has tonight!" Amadeus said licking his lips. Tails and Merlin chuckled at Amadeus' behavior while Rosemary looked at him strangely smiling.

 _ **Rabbit Residence, New Mobotropolis**_

"Cheese! Call Amy and Cream here at once!" Vanilla Rabbit said. Cheese, a small blue chao with a tie nodded and flew up to Cream's room where the little rabbit and Amy were. Since Amy didn't have her parents, Vanilla decided to let Amy live with the rabbits since Amy and Cream were basically like sisters, being best friends and Vanilla treated Amy like her own daughter.

"Chao, chao!" Cheese exclaimed coming inside Cream's room where she and Amy were hanging out. Cream looked up and smiled. "Oh hello Cheese. Dinner is ready?" she asked as Cheese nodded. "Well then, let's go. I'm actually starving!" Amy exclaimed before hopping off her bed and walking downstairs to the living room. Cream sighed. "There she goes, always in a rush", she said quietly before walking down after Amy and Cheese. Vanilla greeted the two by setting down the food on the table, where plates and napkins were neatly set. The Rabbits were seriously organized. As they ate, Vanilla spoke up.

"So, you all are going to Spagonia?" she asked. Amy nodded. "Yup, and we're going to meet this famous professor. I've actually never been there so I'm excited!" she said. "Me too! This will be exciting since I have barely gone out the country!" Cream said. Vanilla chuckled. "Yes, well you two had better be careful and not cause any trouble. I've been to Spagonia before and must I say, it is a lovely place. I would hate to see it destroyed because of an Eggman attack or something", the older rabbit said. Chuckling, Amy and Cream both replied, "We will!" as they all laughed. Cheese piped up happily. Cream then got up. "I'm going to go tend to the other chaos in the Chao Garden!" she said before hurrying off. Vanilla turned to Amy.

"She really is growing up", Vanilla said. Amy nodded. "Yeah, Cream is definitly getting better at the whole fighting thing". She then looked at Vanilla. "Don't worry, Vanilla. I'll personally make sure she is safe and okay". Vanilla nodded. "I know", she said before smiling and getting up leaving the dining room to tend to the kitchen. Amy smiled. _Tommorow is going to be fun!_ she thought happily.

 _ **Casino Night Zone, Night before the trip**_

Casino Night. The place where luck shined every night as there were alot of people who came here and left with a fortune in one night. The casino was huge, nearly the size of Castle Acorn. There were all kinds of slot machines and roulettes everywhere and bright neon lights flashed in every room, lighting the casino up making it colorful. This casino was one of Mobius' finest and riches casinos, the top being Casino Park. Of course, some of Mobius' worst villains even came here for a break to sit back and relax from the evil. Upon these people, three Mobians were sitting at a lone table, playing a simple game of Texas Hold 'Em. One was a purple weasel in cowboy gear named Nack the Weasel A.K.A Fang the Sniper, his gossip name. The expert sniper was excellent with his aim and never backed down for a huge payment involving money. The other was a green duck with a red scarf around his neck named Bean the 'Dynamite' Duck, who was known for being an insane bomber. Though he was incredibly stupid, Bean had a mysterious past being known to affiliate with the Battle Bird Armada and the Babylon Rogues. He also had a knack for shiny objects. The third Mobian was a cream colored polar bear named Bark. Not much was known about him other than having incredible strength that could rival Mighty the Armadillo and being the silent brawler. Together, these three were known as Team Hooligan, a notorious group of bounty hunters who had tried to kill Sonic and his friends many times in the past. Nack grinned as he saw the cards he had and knew he had won this round's money.

"I bet all my 500's" he said confidently. Bean and Bark looked at Nack in wonder before Bark put both his cards facedown. "Fold, huh? Heh I don't blame ya, its better to play safe", Nack said. Bean giggled and put all his chips in the middle. "I bet all because I like taking risks!" Bean exclaimed. Nack's eyes widened and his smile grew. "Oh man, I'm leaving here with the jackpot tonight, baby! In fact, I'm betting all mine too!" the weasel said. Bean squinted his eyes at Nack. "Are you suuurreee?" he asked.

"Of course you dim wit! Now flip the cards so I can collect my money!" Nack exclaimed, feeling the hype. Bean chuckled. "Ooookaaay, leader's first", the duck said. Nack quickly flipped his cards. "Triple king, double 3's and 5 spades in a row. I already won!" Nack said rubbing his hands. Bark's eyes went wide. It was a good thing he had folded, otherwise he would've been bankrupt. Bean smirked before flipping over his cards.

"Quadruple Ace, double queens, double five, and all are diamonds!" Bean said, as he had totally destroyed Nack. Bark let out a whistle. Now he was _really_ glad he had played it safe. Nack's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in awe. Bean burst out laughing. "Bwahahah! Look at his face, he looks so funny! Did I tickle your fiddle, huh buddy?" Bean asked, not making sense at all. Nack then let out a scream of rage. Bark looked at Bean with a _you gotta be kidding me_ look since their boss was mad.

"ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME? THIS IS BULLSHIT! HOW COULD I LOSE TO AN IDIOT LIKE BEAN? I MEAN BEAN OF ALL PEOPLE, COME ON!" Nack yelled. "Mean, Bean. That's so rhymey!" Bean said laughing. Nack screamed out loud again, this time everyone was staring at him. Bark just let out a deep sigh. Suddenly, three people walked up to the Hooligans. They were Coconuts, Scratch and Grounder, three of Robotnik's old badniks who used to be known as the Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad but now were waiters at the Casino Night Zone. Coconuts walked up to Nack.

"Excuse me sir? You three are too loud in here, so you need to leave", the robotic monkey said. Nack just slammed his hands on the table and got up before grabbing Coconuts. "Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do, monkey-boy?" Nack said throttling Coconuts. "Gaah! Get your hands off me, this is violation-SECURITY!" he yelled. Two SWAT-bots with tuxedo colored armor strolled up and stood in front of the three.

"Escort them out of the casino at once!" Coconuts said sneering. Nack growled. "You wanna fight? C'mon Bark, let's give them a fight!" he yelled. Everyone watched with interest as there was going to be a casino fight. Nack and Coconuts continued to argue and curse each other out.

"Stand down, gentlemen". That voice made everyone stop and turn around to find a mammoth in a white suit looking at them. He was Mammoth Mogul, owner of Casino Night and one of Sonic's most deadly enemies. Mogul looked at Coconuts and the other waiters. "You can go now. I'll handle this", he said. Coconuts glared at Nack. "Yessir", he grumbled before walking off with Scratch and Grounder. Mogul turned to Nack.

"Now then, you three please follow me", Mogul said. Nack just scoffed and crossed his arms. "And what if we don't?" he spat. Mogul just looked at him and grinned. "Then you'll wish the security had dealt with you instead. Now _let's go_ ", he said. Nack gulped before nodding. He knew what Mogul was capable of and the last thing Nack wanted to do was to make a demi god angry with him. The Hooligans followed Mogul into a office, where a phone was on. The mammoth turned to the three.

"You three have a phone call. Someone wishes to speak with you", Mogul said before handing Nack the phone. "Now who could this be?" Nack mumbled before answering the phone. "Hello?" "Ah, Nack the Weasel", a voice on the other end boomed. Nack's eyes widened. "Doctor Eggman? What do you want?" he asked. "I have another job for you. This one gives alot of pay in cash. Meet me at Spagonia in about four hours. This job involves a kidnapping of a certain professor..." Eggman said. "Can't you just tell me on the phone?" Nack said obviously annoyed. "No because one, I don't have enough time and two, the phone bills are too expensive. The money I'm going to give you is some cash I stole from the bank. It ranges in the millions category", Eggman said. Nack gasped.

"Millions? Count me in Eggman. The three of us will meet ya in Spagonia in four hours! Just be ready with the money!" Nack said. "Indeed. Now hang up, I'm being charged by calling you!" Eggman said. Nack immediatly hung up. He handed the phone to Mogul. "Well, we're off. The Hooligans have another job!" Nack said. Mogul nodded. "Understood. Just don't cause problems in my casino again, _or else_ " Mogul said holding up a chaos energy fist. Nack, Bean and Bark all nodded quickly. "Yessir!" Nack said before bolting off with Bean and Bark following. The three hopped onto Nack's hoverbike, The Marvelous Queen and the three took off to Spagonia.

 _ **Freedom Airport, New Mobotropolis**_

Team Fighters had gathered around at Freedom Airport, the largest airport in Mobius and was located on the edge of New Mobotropolis. Not only was the airport very large, but the whole yard had over a dozen planes ready to take off and there were even some aircrafts that were built by Tails and Rotor as well such as the Cyclone, FF Special, Tornado, and more. But right now, everyone was standing in front of a closed hangar. Rotor and Tails stood in the front along with Nicole, grinning. The rest were excited.

"Wow, if this is another plane, you didn't have to hide it", Sonic said. "Oh it's not a plane", Nicole. Everyone except for the three who were in the front looked at each other. "Well what else could be inside a hangar?" Amy asked. "A giant frog?" Big asked. Everyone gave him a strange look. "What?" the cat asked. "Aaanyway, what else could it be besides a plane? Oh, you guys probably upgraded the Mobo Cruiser or something!" Sonic exclaimed. Tails and Rotor shook their heads. "Then tell us already!" Sonic said. Rotor chuckled.

"Everyone, brace yourselves. This is going to blow your mind!" Rotor exclaimed as he pressed a button on a remote. The hangar opened up to reveal a gigantic red colored aircraft decorated with white stars and white wings along with a blue border on the stars. "Say hello to Sky Patrol!" Rotor said excited. Everyone stared in awe, even Nicole whistled at its sheer beauty.

"Whoa, this looks even better than before!" Tails exclaimed. "That's really big", Cream said. "Aw, no frog", Big said ears drooping. "Woohoo! C'mon let's go inside!" Sonic yelled. "Wait!" a voice called out. Team Fighters turned to find Queen Alicia and King Maximilian Acorn coming towards them. Max was still on a wheelchair, but was looking healthier. They were parents of Sally and Elias and were Mobotropolis' true rulers. Sonic immediatly saluted them.

"Your majesty", he said. Alicia smiled. "We just want to say, good luck on your trip. Be safe and stop Eggman's plans. You don't need to worry about us, we'll be fine", she said. Max smiled as well. "Good luck, Sonic. Take...care and do...be careful", the king said. Sonic nodded. "We'll be fine, right guys?" he asked turning around. "Yeah!" everyone else in Team Fighters exclaimed. Alicia chuckled. "Well, good-bye", she said. Waving bye, Team Fighters climbed inside Sky Patrol and a few minutes later the ship took off, leaving New Mobotropolis and heading to Spagonia.

"So, mind giving us a tour?" Sonic asked. "You guys can just explore around. Just don't touch anything", Rotor said. Soon, everyone had returned from looking around the ship and were busy chatting. Rotor was piloting the ship with Nicole at his side.

"There it is guys, Spagonia!" Nicole exclaimed as she saw the blooming country appear. Everyone looked out the window in awe. There were massive buildings and house that had the same color almost, cream and red. The buildings looked to be luxurious and there were also a massive clock tower in the heart of Spagonia. Not to mention there were alot of balloons and confetti flying in the air. Sonic saw at least three hot air balloons in the air. _Wow, this place looks awesome!_ the cobalt speedster thought excitedly.

"So, what do we do first?" Sonic asked.

"What do you mean what do we do first? We obviously go to see Professor Pickle!" Tails exclaimed. Sonic sighed. "Oh right, forgot about that", he said.

"Where's his laboratory again? It's gonna be hard to find it under all this commotion", Rotor said. Tails motioned for everyone to follow him and the group started to walk through the city state. The confetti in the air looked like there was no end to it and there was hearty music playing all around. Everywhere they looked it was just... _party._ Team Fighters just gaped at the sight. This definitly seemed like the party place to go to.

"That settles it! I'm coming here every week!" Sonic exclaimed pounding his fist into his palm.

"Oooh, maybe we can tango on a beautiful serene night Sonic", Amy dreamily said. "Um, sure I guess", Sonic said scratching his head. Tails frowned at him. Something was wrong. Tails guessed it by reading Sonic's face and it appeared that the hedgehog had hesitated before answering. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem since Sonic might've been looking for the right words to say so he wouldn't receive the end of Amy's hammer. But what surprised the kitsune was that Sonic had actually _agreed_ to that. Tails decided to keep an eye on his older brother since he had been acting strange ever since the fiasco in Holoska.

"Oooh! Oooh! Can I have some ice cream?" Cream asked when she saw an ice cream parlor parked on the side of the road.

"Sure Cream! Here, I'll have some with you!" Amy said as she, Cream and Cheese went over to the parlor. Rotor took this time to brief with Nicole on a handheld device while Tails played with T-Pup. Sonic meanwhile just looked around relaxed. In front of him was a large fountain with several benches around it. People were walking around or sitting on them enjoying themselves. Sonic smiled. It felt good to see people like this. He would be happy if other people were happy so it was great. _What a beautiful place. Spagonia definitly lives up to its name,_ Sonic thought.

"This is really good!" Cream's voice snapped Sonic out of his thoughts. He turned and smirked when he saw Amy and Cream bring Tails and Big two ice cream cones, one for each. Rotor kindly refused while Nicole reminded Cream how she was a hologram and Cream wasn't.

"So is there any hologram ice cream?" Cream asked. Nicole, who was in her holo form from the handheld device giggled. "Yes, silly. Look", the lynx said as she materialized a holographic ice cream cone. Cream and Cheese both gaped in awe while Amy and Nicole giggled at her.

"Are we done now?" Tails asked a little irritated. Amy and Nicole repositioned themselves and nodded at Tails.

"Great then, let's go!" Rotor said. Tails nodded and lead the way. Everyone followed and talked having a good time. Sonic meanwhile was frowning at Tails behind his back. He had been surprised when he saw that agitated look on Tails' face when Amy and Nicole were laughing and it deeply worried him. Sonic knew Tails since like, forever and in all these years he had never even seen the fox mad. In fact, Sonic had began to see Tails act different especially when Geoffrey trashed the Tornado. The hedgehog had been surprised to see Tails flip out like that and yet he had cheered him on but only since it was Geoffrey getting his ass kicked.

"So what's Professor Pickle like?" Rotor asked Tails. Tails looked just fine now to Sonic's surprise. The fox laughed.

"Oh trust me, you'll love him. He may act a little clueless sometimes, but his genius is still better than mine", Tails said. "That's cool too know!" Sonic exclaimed. They soon walked into Main Street. As they walked through, a ball came flying and hit Big in the face. The cat just blinked and didn't do anything except pick up the ball and hand it back to two kids that came running up to him.

"Thank you mister", the kids said. "You're welcome", Big replied. "Hey, do you know where Professor Pickle's lab is kids?" Amy asked. The kids nodded and pointed at another street.

"Go through Baker Street over there and turn left to the Back Alley. The assistant should be there since the hot dog vendor is also there and that's where he goes for his lunch break", the little girl said. Amy thanked them and the group walked in the direction they were told. Once they reached Baker Street, Big stopped walking.

"What is it Big?" Rotor asked. Big sniffed and suddenly gasped.

"I smell bread!" Big exclaimed. The others smelled it too and it smelled really good.

"Mmm, what is this?" Amy asked. "It's not bread, it's hot dogs!" Tails exclaimed.

"You mean chili dogs", Sonic corrected making Tails smirk. "Over there!" Rotor exclaimed pointing to a nearby hot dog vendor.

"Damn that's strong!" Sonic exclaimed. "Yeah yeah, let's just hurry up already", Tails said trudging on. The others followed and soon they were in the Back Alley. They were soon met with a young man with an old styled hairline.

"Yes?" he asked. "We're looking for Professor Pickle's laboratory. I'm one of his colleages, Miles Tails Prower", Tails answered. The man's face lit up.

"Oh wait! You guys are the Freedom Fighters!..." the man exclaimed. Sonic and the others stood triumphantly. "...right?" the man asked making Team Fighters collapse.

"How could he not know who we are?" Amy said. The man scratched his head.

"Yeah, I can tell you guys are. Anyway, I am Professor Pickle's Assistant and I was on my lunch break until you guys came. But nonetheless, if the Freedom Fighters are here that must be something important so come on!" the assistant said leading the group over to a large fancy baroque styled building. They walked up the steps and the assistant stood by the door.

"Go on in. I'm still supposed to be on my lunch break so I'll go now. See ya!" the assistant said walking off to the hot dog vendor. Sonic shook his head.

"Wierd guy. Man how could he not know who we are? How long has it been since he woke up?" Sonic said.

"Well, we never came to this place at all so some people might not know us", Tails suggested. "But who doesn't know the heroes of Mobius?" Amy asked.

"Apparently that guy".

"Yeah but-" "Can we stop arguing already and meet up with the professor?" Rotor asked a little hyped. Sonic snickered.

"Sounds like someone's excited", Sonic said as they entered the lab. The lab was very fancy with an antique design. They entered a library and saw Professor Pickle at his desk writing some notes. Tails politely knocked on the door making the professor look up and beam.

"Ah, Tails. Come on in", Pickle said. Team Fighters walked inside the library and sat down on several chairs.

"And the rest of you must be Team Fighters Tails was talking about", Pickle said. "How intriguing", he said. Team Fighters politely introduced themselves one by one and Pickle took note of it.

"Hmm, too much to remember but that's alright. Now tell me Tails, to what service may I help you with?" Pickle asked. Team Fighters looked at each other uneasily. This man was already wierd. Tails cleared his throat and spoke.

"Well you see..." Tails explained the whole situation from the Death Egg's launch to the Gaia Manuscripts. Pickle put his hand under his chin.

"Hmm, that's quite an adventure. Let me see the Gaia Manuscripts", Pickle said. Tails took the manuscripts and handed them to Pickle and the nutty professor began to read them.

"With great power, a terrible force shall be awakened from the insides of this planet", Pickle translated. "Two beings hold the balance of life. Light Gaia, the pure hearted spirit who protects the souls of people. Dark Gaia, the corrupt hearted spirit who seeks destruction in it's wake. Without the two, life cannot exist. The only way these two will be awakened is when a powerful force disturbs them and frees them. Dark Gaia will destroy everything in its path and Light Gaia will have to stop it like many years ago", Pickle translated.

"What the heck does this mean?" Sonic asked.

"Did you not hear him? This Dark Gaia thing will destroy the world and only Light Gaia will stop it", Rotor said.

"Simple as that", Amy added. "But wait there's more!" Pickle exclaimed making everybody jump.

"One hero will rise and defeat Dark Gaia with Light Gaia's help. Only with legendary power, Dark Gaia will be sealed but in return its aftermath shall leave the world in a chaotic state", Pickle said. This left everyone in shock.

"Ok, so we can't let that happen", Tails said. "Wait so how do we fix it?" Rotor asked. Pickle shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's all. It appears there is one more page missing. Do you by any chance have it?" Pickle asked. Tails shook his head.

"No", he said. Pickle thought about it.

"Well then I suggest that in case this does happen, go over to the Sacred Shines around the world", Pickle said.

"Sacred Shrine?" Sonic asked. "Temples that are said to hold many secrets revolving around the Gaia past. They say you need a magnificent power source to uncover the secrets", Pickle said.

"That makes sense", Amy said. Cream said she was confused and Amy explained to her and Big in an easier format.

"Well now what do we do? Wait for destruction to happen?" Sonic asked. "I say we should try and find out where Eggman relocated the Death Egg. He may have more of these manuscripts with him", Tails said. Everyone agreed with that idea. Pickle cleared his throat and took out a cucumber sandwich.

"Well then, better get going now. I have work to do, excuse me", Pickle said. The group got up and left the laboratory. Once outside, Sonic put his hands behind his head and walked.

"Well here we are on another adventure", Sonic said. "Hey this one will be fun" Amy urged.

"Yeah if you wanna count Sal is still a robot and Antoine and Bunnie have dissapeared", Sonic replied. Amy saddened. "I'm sorry..." she said.

"It's cool. I know we'll get her back", Sonic said. Amy frowned. _Yeah and you and her will get back together again_ , she thought sadly. She shook her head. _What am I thinking? Sally is my friend. If Sonic's happy with her, then I won't get in their way._ Amy then smiled.

"Is the party still going on?" Rotor asked when he noticed the confetti still in the air. Sonic chuckled.

"Wow, this place never gets tired of parties, does it?" Sonic said.

"Yeah and we're here to crash it!" a voice shouted out and suddenly a laser was shot at Sonic, who managed to duck under it at the last second. Startled, Sonic looked up to find Team Hooligan hovering on the Marvelous Queen, Nack's hoverbike. Team Fighters immediatly got in fighting stances.

"Nack, Bean, Bark! What're you doing here?!" Tails shouted. Nack grinned.

"What can I say? Eggman gave us a good deal to come over here and nab the nutty professor so he can carry out his plans!" Nack exclaimed.

"Ooh! Ooh! And we also want those ancient papers you guys have!" Bean piped up. Bark just remained silent as always but glared at the heroes. Sonic smirked.

"Seriously? Eggy sent you guys to do the job? Man, he must really not be thinking right!" Sonic exclaimed. Nack fumed.

"Oh yeah hedgehog? We're more than a match for you! In fact, we've gotten stronger than before!" Nack exclaimed suddenly accelerating his bike towards Sonic, intent on running the hedgehog over. Sonic just smirked and easily leapt over the bike and landed on his feet stylishly.

"Really? You're gonna make me roadkill just to win? What a pansy move!" Sonic mocked. Nack glared at him before hopping off his bike, followed by Bean and Bark.

"You want a manly fight, Sonic? I'll give ya one!" Nack exclaimed. "Heehah! You guys are gonna go ka-blooey!" Bean exclaimed gathering a bomb.

"I really hate you three", Amy said remembering the Sol Emerald fiasco. Nack glared at her.

"Shut it girly! You for one should not even be talking!" Nack said. That was it. Amy's eye twitched and she gripped her hammer even more tightly. People moved back and watched.

"Girly? Girly? Okay, you really want to end up in the infirmary!" Amy exclaimed rushing at Nack and preparing to beat the weasel senseless. Nack yelped and cowered in fear, but Bark saved him by grabbing Amy's hammer and yanking it out of her hands.

"Hey! Give me my hammer back!" Amy exclaimed. Bark just held it high above his head and tossed it into a faraway building, latching it high onto the roof. Amy cried out and glared at Bark.

"Why you-" "Ho-kay! That's enough!" Sonic exclaimed grabbing Amy by her waist and carrying her away from Bark as she was flailing around in Sonic's grasp.

"Let me at him!" Amy shouted and continued to do so until Sonic set her down and looked at her sternly.

"First of all, we all know you pretty much are useless without your hammer, right?" Sonic said. Amy glared at him but didn't say a word. He was right. Without her Piko Piko Hammer, Amy wasn't really powerful. She did have some combat skills and also knew how to wield a bow, but that wouldn't be enough.

"Fine", she grumbled understanding that Sonic wanted her to stay out of this fight until her hammer was returned. Sonic nodded and turned to the Hooligans.

"Alright, you jerkwads. It's time for a beating!" Sonic said cracking his knuckles. Nack snorted.

"Not gonna happen, douchebag! This time, you'll be eating the dirt!" Nack exclaimed running towards Sonic and throwing a punch which the hedgehog easily dodged.

"Not really", Sonic said kicking Nack down. Bark then punched Sonic in the face and sent the hedgehog careening into the hot dog stand. The assistant yelped in surprise when Sonic crashed into the box of bread buns. The hot dog vendor didn't really seem to mind the damage.

"That's right! Eat it you dirt!" Nack exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Tails exclaimed kicking Nack on the side and tripping him with his namesakes.

"Gah! Help!" Nack shouted as Tails repeatedly tailswiped him.

"Hang on boss-o! Ima throw my boom booms!" Bean shouted tossing a bomb at Tails and exploding it sending Tails flying into Rotor. Big and Bark rushed at each other and grappled arms, each trying to overcome the other. Nack got up and took out his revolver and aimed it at Cream, who cowered in fear with Cheese.

"Hey there little girl", Nack said. "It's nighty night for you". Amy then gave the weasel a hard punch to the jaw and knocked the weasel down. Nack cried out in pain and spit out a tooth that had fallen out.

"Ow! What the hell?" Nack exclaimed and Amy slapped him. She then grabbed the weasel by the ears and grabbed his hat before wearing it herself. Amy glared at Nack, who cowered in fear.

"Don't use profanity in front of children!" Amy said tipping the hat. Nack whimpered before Amy gave him an earsplitting slap. Nack's cheek was completly red now and the weasel ran and took cover behind Bark.

"Save me from that psycho!" Nack exclaimed. Bark obeyed and walked to Amy, who nervously gulped. Sonic then came out of nowhere, slamming into Bark with a overpowered Spindash and made the wind breeze by. Sonic then turned around and kicked Bean into Nack before running around them and unleashing his Sonic Wind attack.

"Waaagghh!" Nack exclaimed. Bean just cheered as he was tossed around and Sonic then proceeded to stop, knocking the two down, Nack groggily got up while Bean just woohoed. The duck was then knocked out by a wrench that was thrown by Rotor. That just left Nack and Bark. Nack quickly pulled out another revolver and tried to shoot Rotor with a stun dart but Sonic somehow managed to kick it away.

"What?!" Nack exclaimed. Sonic smirked.

"Annnd pop goes the weasel!" Sonic exclaimed boosting into Nack and giving the bounty hunter a solid kick, throwing him into a nearby food stand. The owner angrily shouted and Sonic sheepishly apologized. Bark looked at Team Fighters then at his own team before casting a glare at the heroes and grabbing them both, then hopping on the Marvelous Queen and taking off. The heroes cheered in joy.

"Alright! We showed them!" Sonic said. Amy huffed.

"Can I get my hammer now?" Amy asked. Tails flew up to the roof where the hammer was tossed and retrieved it. After that, the heroes decided to find a place to eat and discuss what happened.

"Man I'm hungry!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Yeah same here", Rotor said. "Let's go eat at a restaurant. I saw one when we were walking", the walrus said.

"Guys! Guys!" a voice called out. The heroes turned around to find Professor Pickle's assistant running towards them.

"What happened?" Tails asked. The others were curious as well.

"It's the professor! He's been kidnapped!" the assistant exclaimed.

 _TO BE CONTINUED_

 **Author's note: It's back :)**

 **Sorry for the delay. I was really busy with my other stories and school. But winter break is coming up so I'll have more time. Anyway, the professor's been kidnapped! What will our heroes do now? Find out next time on "Spagonia Scramble" part two!**

 **EPIC Out!**


	10. Chapter 9: Spagonia Scramble Part 2

**Lost Hedgehog Tales**

 _ **CHAPTER 9: SPAGONIA SCRAMBLE PART 2**_

 _ **Spagonia, Outside the laboratory**_

"The professor's been kidnapped!" the assistant screeched. Sonic and the others looked at each other in horror.

"What?!" they exclaimed. The assistant frantically beckoned for them to follow and led them inside the library. There, they could see the professor's desk flipped over with papers and books sprawled on the ground. A window was also broken and there were lots of shards of glass on the floor. Amy held Cream away from them while Tails, Rotor and Nicole scanned around. Sonic looked at the assistant who was close to sobbing.

"What happened here?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, it was horrible! Right after you guys left and beat those three other guys, some fat egg shaped man came here with some kind of robot and nabbed the professor right there! I was just heading back since my lunch break was over and I reached here right when I saw the guy take off!" the assistant cried.

"Egg shaped man... _Eggman_!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Hey look, there's a letter here!" Nicole exclaimed. Everyone immediatly rushed over to see what it was. Nicole opened up the letter and a hologram of Eggman appeared on it.

"Hohohoho! Guess what, Sonic? Looks like your dear professor is gone! Thanks for being distracted by the Hooligans long enough for me to come here and take him away! Who's ahead of the game now, hmm? Oh, and those Gaia Manuscripts? I also took those too! With the professor's help, I will find the other manuscripts and soon the whole world will feel the wrath of the Eggman Empire! _Ohhohohohoho!_ " Eggman exclaimed. And with that, the hologram dissapeared and a message appeared on the blank letter:

"THIS LETTER WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN FIVE...FOUR..." the message said in a robotic voice.

"THREE-" "Oh for Chaos' sakes!" Sonic interuppted by grabbing the letter and Spindashing it apart, stopping the self-destruct. Tails sighed and sat down. Team Fighters was down one step. Eggman had redeemed himself and taken back the Gaia Manuscripts when they swore they wouldn't let that happen. If only he...

"Nooooo! My idol was kidnapped, oh whatever will I dooo!" the assistant wailed. Amy grabbed him and shook him repeatedly.

"Calm down, will you?!" she exclaimed. The assistant continued to wail and cry but stopped.

"Hey, where'd you get that hat?" he asked Amy who was still wearing Nack's hat.

"Oh, don't worry about it", Amy replied. "Oh, okay". And he continued to cry and slumped down on his knees. Amy uneasily stepped away from him and tipped her hat down, not wanting to be apart of this.

"Well, what now? We really can't do anything without the manuscripts or the professor!" Rotor exclaimed.

"And worse, Eggman relocated the Death Egg as well, and that's probably where he took the professor!" Tails said. Sonic put his hand on his forehead, trying to think. Realization came into his mind after that. He quickly jolted the assistant up.

"This happened right after we trashed those three, right?" Sonic asked. The assistant nodded and Sonic pushed him away excitedly making the assistant cry out as he fell.

"That was just a few miutes ago! And knowing how slow Eggy's robots are, he couldn't have gotten that far!" Sonic exclaimed. Tails slowly stood up.

"So you mean..." Tails asked. Sonic nodded. "There's still a chance! Yo, assistant! Where did Egghead go?" Sonic asked.

"People say they saw him heading in the clock tower's direction. Why?" the assistant replied. Sonic grinned at the others.

"Rotor, get Sky Patrol ready! Tails, come with me! Where going on an Egghunt!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Yeah, let's go!" Tails exclaimed as he and Sonic bolted out of the lab. Rotor, Nicole and Team Rose thanked the assistant(who was still crying) and ran to their collosal ship. Once inside, Rotor strapped onto his seat as well as the others while Nicole just went in her digital form.

"Oh man, I hope Sonic's right about this!" Rotor exclaimed. "Of course he is! Sonic will definitly catch Eggman since he's the fastest thing alive, remember?" Amy said.

"I hope your right, Amy. Because we can't loose this opportunity", Rotor said preparing to take off.

 _ **New Mobotropolis, The Pit underneath Castle Acorn**_

In an old ancient altar, a figure appeared from out of the shadows. It was Geoffrey St. John, current dictator of New Mobotropolis. He had teleported inside the Pit with his Shadow Meld ability since there was no other way in after Castle Acorn had been rebuilt. Geoffrey walked up the stairs to the altar. The torches on the side lit up a green flame as he walked by. After he reached the top, Geoffrey walked to the middle where there was a circe of small steps and a green crystal pillar on top which reached up to the skunk's neck. Geoffrey waved both his arms in a jester way, emanating green energy.

"Almost complete", he muttered. The crystal was glowing green as well as Geoffrey. In a few seconds, his health and energy was fully replenished. Geoffrey stopped waving his arms and turned around. The crystal remained glowing green like it was before. Geoffrey turned around to look at it once more.

"Once my new Crystal Wand is complete, I'll make sure I bring order into this world. Soon, the new Order of Ixis shall conquer the world and I'll be a god", Geoffrey said then looking up to find a purple emerald floating above the pillar, glowing energy.

"All because of one Chaos Emerald", Geoffrey said smirking. He turned around to leave but stopped when a huge headache washed over him.

"Arrrgghhh!" Geoffrey shouted slumping down on his knees, clutching his head. His eyes widened as he saw three other figures.

"Unngh-no what do YOU want now?" Geoffrey exclaimed. One of them, a yellow rhino laughed.

 _"Well well well, you thought you could escape us by taking control of another life form's body? You fool, we remain in your soul. Don't forget, we were the ones who made you", the rhino said._

"No...get out", Geoffrey said, but in a raspy voice that wasn't his.

" _Look at you, so broken down not able to anything. How can you rule the world like this?" a purple bat exclaimed._

"Why you...I will do as I please", Geoffrey said squeezing his eyes. His body started giving off dark energy. His form was slowly changing.

 _"Haha, let us leave him alone now. I think we've given him enough trouble today", a red scorpion said._

"Get...OUT!" Geoffrey shouted in a completly different voice not. The three figures dissapeared eaving Geoffrey to recollect himself. The skunk was panting, completly exhausted.

"No...how can this be?" Geoffrey asked in his normal voice now.

"I thought I got rid of them, but they still followed me. Gah, no matter! Once my plan is complete, they'll be gone forever!" Geoffrey said getting up. He turned to the crystal altar and walked towards it.

"I am running out of time. Soon, I won't be able to maintain this body any longer. My apprentice should've learned his lesson anyway", Geoffrey said starting to rejuvenate himself.

"Once my plan is complete, then I shall rid of this body! Apprentice can have his body back but will be under my control! All will bow down to me, _Ixis Naugus!_ " Geoffrey exclaimed cackling.

 _ **Spagonia, Rooftop Run Zone**_

"Yeah-hooo!" Sonic shouted boosting while grinding on a rail above many buildings. He spread out his arms taking in the air and flying through the confetti. He bounced off a spring at the end of the rail and homing attacked onto some balloons before shooting himself through a rainbow colored ring, where he did numerous combos and tricks in the air. Sonic landed on the roof of another baroque building and took off running, wasting no time. Tails flew beside him, enjoying the thrill as well.

"We gotta hurry up, Sonic!" Tails shouted. Sonic grinned at him.

"Don't worry, bud! Speed is my middle name!" Sonic shouted before boosting down the building and jumping off it to land on a lower roof. Tails just flew in the air and watched as Sonic sped through a narrow gap and Quickstep his way to another spring where he bounced all the way to Tails' height and the fox caught him by the arms and flew him to the roof of another building. Tails suddenly gasped when he saw Spinners and Egg Fighters waiting.

"Look, Eggman's robots!" Tails pointed out. Sonic nodded.

"I gotcha!" he said letting go of Tails' hand and homing attacking a few spinners, alowing him to get on the higher roof with the Egg Fighters where he boosted them all away. To the hedgehog's delight, he got tons of rings in the process. Sonic then ran all the way to the side of another building where he wall jumped up and homing attacked into a mini cannon where he pointed it up and launched himself up. Sonic then grabbed onto a zipline and rode onto a rooftop garden where he was careful to not mess up the crops remembering the angry owner of the hot dog stand when he crashed onto the box of breads. Shaking himself from that, Sonic jumped and landed on another rail and boosted him across. The rail was really long and it was taking him across the whole city. Sonic was flabbergasted by the incredible view and immediatly took out his phone(yes he has a phone and its touch screen, but he's not an addict to it) and took a picture of the view. Luckily, it somehow wasn't blurred in the picture and Sonic smiled to himself before hopping onto another rail since the previous one had a spike bomb on it. After jumping off and kicking a steel box onto an Egg Fighter, Sonic ran through the roofs again while boosting.

"Woooooo!" Sonic shouted slamming into every robot he saw. Suddenly, three robots appeared and flew in front of him. Sonic grinned, immediatly recognizing the three Aero Chasers. One of them suddenly charged up a blue laser and fired it, but Sonic Quickstepped to the left. The other one fired it but Sonic Quickstepped to the right so now he was in the middle. He saw an Egg Fighter and immediatly boosted into it, sending it flying into one of the Aero Chasers, destroying it. With two left, Sonic Quickstepped to the right and slammed another Egg Fighter into the Aero Chaser, but it didn't destroy it. Sonic quickly Quickstepped two times to the left when both Aero Chaser charged their lasers and fired.

"Annnd another one!" Sonic exclaimed boosting an Egg Fighter into the middle Aero Chaser, taking it out leaving only the one on the right. At this point, the Aero Chaser couldn't really do anything except move left to right trying to hit Sonic, who was easily able to dodge the lasers. He then boosted an Egg Fighter into the Aero Chaser, taking it out before boosting up to a spring and bouncing onto a rail which led him to the clock tower.

"Here we gooo!" Sonic shouted as he boosted on the rail all the way to the top of the clock tower.

"OH...MY...CHILI DOGS!" Sonic shouted when he saw the _breathtaking_ view from the top. He then screamed with joy as he plummeted down on the rail from the top and boosted. The rail made a long turn to the right and he soon landed on another roof of a building. It was then Tails decided to show up and fly beside him.

"I lost you for a few minutes and then I saw you at the top of the clock tower!" Tails shouted.

"Dude, you're going up there after this!" Sonic shouted. They both sped up and eventually saw the familiar Egg Mobile flying in the distance. Grinning, Sonic sped up and was soon right beside Eggman, running next to him. The doctor didn't seem to notice since he was apparently jamming it out to "I am the Eggman", a song he had made a long time ago. Sonic knocked on the glass and Eggman nearly passed out when he saw Sonic grinning there.

"Hey, Eggy! Miss me?" Sonic asked.

"Wha-how-gah! What are you doing here?!" Eggman sputtered. Orbot and Cubot waved to Sonic, who waved back.

"Let the professor go and give us back the manuscripts!" Sonic shouted.

"Hah, never!" Eggman sneered. He then pressed a button and soon a loud whirring was heard behind Sonic. The hedgehog glanced behind him to see Tails fly faster with a troubled look on his face. Sonic gasped when he saw a large robot fly over his head and land in front of Eggman. Grinning, Eggman steered his Egg Mobile into the slot inside the robot and clamped it shut. The "Eggman" song was still playing as the doctor seated himself in the middle with Orbot and Cubot on each side in the arms.

"Meet the Egg Devil Ray, you're death!" Eggman shouted. Sonic just sighed. This wouldn't be anything new. Just trash Eggman's robot and that's all.

"Do your worst!" Sonic shouted. What was hilarious was that the Egg Devil Ray looked like some kind of fish. Sonic coudn't help but snicker.

"Laughing at my creativity, hedgehog? You won't be laughing when all your bones are broken!" Eggman shouted firing a laser from a cannon, which Sonic dodged. Sonic tried to go in for a homing attack but Eggman put up a shield and Sonic just bounced off.

"Hahaha! What now, Sonic?" Eggman shouted.

"Yeah, you get im boss!" Cubot also shouted. Orbot agreed until Eggman told them to shut up. Tails flew beside Sonic.

"Sonic, that shield doesn't look too powerful. You can still boost into it and take it out", Tails explained.

"Then what? Where is it's weak spot?" Sonic asked. Tails looked closely but couldn't find anything.

"No matter, it'll show up eventually", Sonic said boosting into the shield repeatedly until he broke through and hit the fish. The Egg Devil Ray sputtered as it took some heavy damage but then Eggman put up an electrified shield to counter Sonic's boost attacks.

"Hohoho, now it's my turn!" Eggman said suddenly firing a laser cannon. Sonic gasped and slid under it but Tails was hit by the cannon and was sent flying back.

"Tails!" Sonic shouted but had to leap out of the way as Orbot fired a mini laser in his direction.

"I'm not done yet!" Eggman shouted suddenly flying to the side of the roof where Sonic couldn't get him. Eggman then released a barrage of missiles, to which Sonic easily dodged, but was hit by the last one. Eggman laughed before firing a laser that moved in a circular motion. Sonic gasped and boosted, running away from the laser. Eggman growled and moved back to the front of Sonic where he barked at Orbot and Cubot to fire the mini lasers but Sonic once more dodged them.

"Stay still you pest!" Eggman shouted trying to hit him with the massive cannon.

"Man, how do I get rid of that electric shield without frying myself?" Sonic wondered. He then saw Eggman releasing some projectiles his way and an idea came into his mind. Sonic jumped and kicked one of the projectiles into the electric shield, damaging it.

"Gah!" Eggman shouted as the Egg Devil Ray was rocked as a result of the impact. Sonic smirked before kicking two more projectiles and Spindashing one into the robot, eventually breaking through the electric defense.

"Oh no! Get the shield back up, GET IT BACK UP!" Eggman shouted at Orbot.

"It needs to recharge. Sonic damaged it alot!" Orbot exclaimed. Eggman screamed before firing a laser at Sonic who easily evaded and homing attacked the arm Cubot was in.

"Aahhhh!" Cubot shouted as his part of the machine was rendered useless now. Sonic then boosted into the seat Eggman was in and sent the Egg Devil Ray bouncing away uncontrollably.

"Good job!" Tails shouted after he had managed to recover himself and fly back. Sonic flashed a toothy grin but faded when Eggman recovered and put the shield back up.

"Damn it!" Tails shouted.

"No worries, I got this!" Sonic replied. Eggman flew to the side and fired his circular laser again where Sonic just boosted away from it but Tails got hit once again and was sent tumbling back.

"Not agaaaiinnnnnn!" Tails shouted as he flew back. Sonic just facepalmed and sped up to the Egg Devil Ray which was now in front of him launching the projectiles. Sonic just did what he did before and kicked the projectiles back into the shield. It needed one more hit and Sonic tried to kick another projectile.

"Yeeeowwwch!" Sonic shouted getting burned from the projectile that was on fire.

"Hohohoho! Thought this would be easy?" Eggman sneered. Sonic growled and dodged another fiery projectile before kicking a regular one into the shield, disabling it.

"Not again", Eggman muttered trying to hit Sonic with his laser while the electric shield recharged. Sonic homing attacked the arm Orbot was operating, rendering that useless as well. Eggman howled with anger while Orbot and Cubot nervously shook.

"And, FLY!" Sonic shouted boosting into the middle again sending the Egg Devil Ray tumbling. Tails caught up again and grinned at Sonic.

"And he said this would break my bones!" Sonic shouted. Tails shook his head.

"Man, what a joke! I wish I could stop getting hurt!" Tails said as Eggman put up the electric shield one more time.

"This is it hedgehog! Now you've made me mad! Go, full power!" Eggman shouted suddenly releasing a barrage of homing missiles at the duo. Sonic and Tails scrambled to get out of the way while Eggman grinned, knowing he had it. However, all of the missiles missed Sonic and homed in on Tails whose eyes were wide.

"WHY ME?!" Tails shouted as he was hit with all the missiles and was sent rocketing back again. Sonic glanced uneasily back.

"Whoo boy, he sure is gonna be mad", Sonic said shaking his head and speeding away from the circular laser. However, Eggman, who was on the side launched _another_ circular laser, this one on the other side of Sonic.

"What the?!" Sonic shouted as both lasers closed in on him, trapping him.

"You're done now!" Eggman laughed. Tails had somehow managed to fly back and shout at Sonic.

"Sonic, just stay where you are! The lasers don't reach all the way to the middle so you'll be fine!" Tails shouted. Sonic heard him and did as he was told. As Tails said, the laser dissapeared right before they could reach the middle. Sonic grinned while Eggman fumed.

"That's it! I'm ramming him down!" Eggman shouted steering the Egg Devil Ray behind Sonic and speeding up, attempting to run him over.

This is the second time someone tried to make me roadkill!" Sonic exclaimed sliding under the robot, which zoomed by. Sonic got up and prepared to kick the multiple projectiles back into the electric shield. This time, Eggman launched a bunch of fiery projectiles as well, some hitting Sonic and scorching the hedgehog.

"Stay down you rat!" Eggman shouted. At that point all of Sonic's fun faded away and replaced it with anger. No one called him a rat-especially Eggman! With a loud scream, Sonic kicked a fiery projectile back into the electric shield, shattering it in one go. Eggman slackjawed and muttered "oh no".

"Maybe you shouldn't have said that boss", Orbot said. "Oooh, he done now! He done!" Cubot shouted dancing. Sonic then homing attacked the middle and boosting into it sending the Egg Devil Ray tumbling once more.

"Finish it off by boosting, Sonic!" Tails shouted.

"Way ahead of you, buddy!" Sonic shouted repeatedly boosting into the machine making it crash harder. Eventually, the machine went flying and exploded in midair, sending the Egg Mobile flying away with Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot screaming as it crashed on the ground a good distance away. Sonic stopped running and struck a victory pose before slapping Tails a high-five. It was then they noticed Sky Patrol finally arrive. The rest of the heroes stepped out and congratulated Sonic before walking up to Eggman.

"Where's the professor?" Rotor demanded. Eggman sneered at him.

"Safely locked away in one of my many prison capsules on the Death Egg! As for the manuscripts, they are secured inside the Death Egg as well! Thank you, Egg Devil Ray!" Eggman exclaimed kissing the air.

"What? Well give them back!" Sonic shouted.

"Never, you fool!" Eggman retorted.

"Ugh, he isn't gonna crack like this. Looks like we have to do it the old fashioned way", Amy said pulling out her hammer. Eggman's mustache drooped and he immediatly threw a flash bang on the ground, blinding everyone before grabbing Orbot and Cubot and taking off in his Egg Mobile. Everyone was left stumped.

"Since when could he run that fast?" Nicole asked in her lynx form. Sonic shrugged.

"Eh, he must have built a treadmill in the Death Egg or something. I don't know", the hedgehog answered. Tails growled and kick a rock.

"But we couldn't save Professor Pickle and get the Gaia Manuscripts back! Worst, Eggman escaped! Now what?" Tails asked. Sonic uneasily took a step back. No one noticed it, but him. Tails had really started to become grumpy and sour. Ever since the Holoska madness, Tails had been more angry. Sonic had noticed it for a while now. When they lost their chance to destroy the Death Egg in Holoska, when Geoffrey wrecked the Tornado, and even when everyone was wasting time with getting ice cream. It was just adding to the fox's annoyance. Sonic made a mental note to talk to Tails about this later.

"Well, nothing we can do at this point so might as well head back" Rotor said. Everyone agreed and got inside Sky Patrol. Once everyone was ready, the ship took off back to New Mobotropolis. Even though Eggman got away with the professor and the manuscripts, at least they accomplished what they came here for, and that was to find out what the manuscripts meant.

 _ **Somewhere in Central City Park**_

A few hours after Team Fighters had left Spagonia and had returned to their respective homes, it was almost midnight. The cool breeze given off by the air blew briskly. At this time, no one was in the Central City Park. Everyone was home either sleeping or doing something else. But not two people. In the night, a warp ring suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Out stepped a boot and then a figure. He was a green hedgehog sporting a leather jacket with red flames, red shades, green boots and had twin scars on his stomache. Another figure then popped out followed by four other figures. The hedgehog, who was the leader stood beside a female fox who had her hand around the hedgehog's shoulder.

"Alright, listen up Destructix", the hedgehog said. He grinned at the four, one being a massive gorilla, a blue hawk, a brown lynx and a green frog. He turned to the red fox and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Tonight, we finally come out of hiding and strike. After what we found out on Moebius, we're gonna need alot of firepower for this one", the hedgehog said. The fox smirked.

"You said it Scourge. That's why your the leader", the fox said kissing Scourge on the cheek. Scourge smiled and pulled her closer.

"That's right Fiona. And we're all aware of what we have to do, right?" Scourge asked. The four nodded.

"We know what the plan is. Keep the soldiers busy while you nab that Chaos Emerald", the gorilla answered. Scourge grinned.

"Good job Simian. Predator, Lightning, Flying and Fiona, you guys know as well, right?" Scourge said.

"Babe, you know I got this", Fiona replied. "Those fools won't know what hit them", Predator Hawk said.

"Being a ninja, I can guarantee you victory", Lightning Lynx said.

"Goohahaha! People are gonna go squishee! And then _kablooey!_ " Flying Frog exclaimed in his stupid way. Scourge grinned and pulled his shades up.

"Good. Now let's move. Raiding G.U.N HQ ain't gonna be easy", Scourge said leading the way with the group following.

 _TO BE CONTINUED_

 **Author's note: Another chapter down. Yes, it's good to be finally updating this again. Next will be another chapter in "Mario and Sonic: The Malevolent Wars", so go check that out soon. Anyway, Egg Devil Ray and Rooftop Run? Some Sonic Unleashed shit going on here. And the professor's been kidnapped along with the manuscripts? Ixis Naugus has possessed Geoffrey's body? And the Destructix?! What the actualy fuck.**

 **Next chapter we'll see the epic raid the Destructix do on G.U.N HQ for the Chaos Emerald. Just what is going on Moebius? What did Scourge mean by "alot of firepower"? Find out next time on "Midnight Heist"!**

 **EPIC Out!**


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